2Q ZIFF-DAVIS^ 32 REVIEWS TRESPASSER; JURASSIC PARK • GRAND PRIX LEGENDS . CAESAR III • SHOGO January 1999 GAMING The #1 PC Game Magazine SID MEIER'S ALPHA CENTAURI Plus More War & Core! 10 Top Systems We Rate the Best Big-Name PCs How to 51^ 29 Scorching New Games! TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KINGDOMS HOMEWORLD AGE OF EMPIRES II BRAVEHEART CLOSE COMBAT III 'www.gtgaines- Flesh-eaOng Fleeclies! Unileail niudomUies! Bane-gpindlng Greeteps! Other heroes have swords, chainsaws, and vaporizers to doal with their monstroos enemies. In Oddworid. all you've got is gas. Ahe now has the ahility to possess his own farts and blow his enemies away! It's a power he's going to need if he's going to stop the Glukkon Meat Barons from making Soulstorm Brew - the only beverage made from real Mudokon tears and bones. Fart possession. No other game has it and frankly, we're not sure any other game would want it I Test Drive Off-Road 2, the only 4-wheeling experience thats guaranteed to get you high. ■ Hutnnier eiclusive- The only place you'll drive the wortd famous Hummer ■ Awesome Soundtrack Featuring: Sevendust, Gravity Kills, and Fear Factory Dual SlMck° Analog Controllo- support- Vibration so real, you risk whiplash! ■ World Tour mode- Blow away your competiHon in any of 6 different track classes to open hidden tracks mid buy new vetudes and/or upgrades. ■ 12 gnarly tracks in 6 real world locaHons- Go muddoggin', spray rooster taTs, blow snow, churn up sand and surf- or bash, crash and smash your opponents into boulders, trees, edits or mud pits. ■ Choose from 20 kSlervehtcIes!- Including ad your favorite off-road behemoths- Do(^e‘ Ram, Ford Eiplorer?' Jeei^ Wrangler, Ford F-IS07 Chenowth (fflV), Jeep. Grand Cherokee, Dodge’ TRei and more.. For your free Test Flight, download the demo at www.accolade.com To order direct, cal] 1.800.24S.7744 '1‘Ji U-J Race from the Alps to the beaches of Hawaii Catch serious air off insane jumps 'Road mayhem at its best! PliiySlalion Test Drive Off-Road is a registered trademarii of Accolade, Inc. ©1998 Accolade, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are of thtir respecOve companies and are used under license by Accolade, Inc. PlayStation’ and the PlayStatioit” logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Hummer’ and the vehicle’s grille de^gn are the registered trademarks of AM General Corp. Go to #055 @ www.computergamlng.com/lnfolink Am mjTjiI iTlffl If 1 EPIC ACTION FIGURES Go to #267 @ www.cbmputergaming.com/lnfolink Bigger Game World. Improved Combat Al. Comprehensive RPG System. FALLOUT 2: A POST-NUCLEAR ROLE PLAYING GAME ©1998 Interplay Produclions. All rights reserved. Fallout, Interplay, the Intel ploy logo. Black Isle Studios, the Black Isle Studios logo, and "By Gamers, For Gamers." are trademarks ot Interplay Productions, All rights toservod. WindowsQ!)95 and Winclow5®98 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. All other Iracionifirks and copyrights are properties ol their respective owners. maiVin tebai se Rogue Squs noodMonsiet gtapKics ca ROGUE SQUADRON HAVE BEEN - SELECTED TO iLEAD the ROGUE Squadron in COMBAT AGAINST THE EMPIRE. HERE'S YOUR DRAFT CARD m Your draft card? A 3D accelerator card, of course. It’s the mandatorv hardware necessary for you to enlist in a brand new, rapid-fire Star Hiirs air combat experience - Rogue Squadron 3D. Immerse yourself in tlic role of Luke Skywalkcr, leader of the Rebel Alliance’s elite air corps, as you pilot a broad range of well-armed srarfighters. From X-wings, Y-wings and A-wings to snowspeeders. I the evil Empire in over 15 missions (day and night) - each spanning the vast i'/flr Jl{irs al shuttles and more. Strap in, young Skywalker. It’s the fight (and flight) of your life. Go to #185 @ www.computergaming.com/lnfoIink COMPUTER JANUARY 1999 No. 174 r-rfiT The #1 PC Game Magazine NC WORLD FEATURES 72 Strategy Blowout Think you're the greatest strategist since Rommei anti Napoieon? Weli, you'il soon be able to test your mettle in the lastest batch of strategy games, including the highly anticipated TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KINGDOMS. We've got the scoop on 29 hot new games in this giant featurel PREVIEWS Building the Perfect Game it takes much more than just thinking up an idea and programming a few lines of code to make a great game. To make matters even more complicated, each game genre imposes a different set of concerns to consider. Our editors take a dose, inside look at game design in five genres. Plus, we give you legal advice about starting your own development company. Redline This is one driving game that deariy falls in the action category. You'll crash, bump, and collide your way to victory — if you're man enough to handle it 54 Hired Guns Will this new perspective on squad-level, first- person combat breathe some fresh air into the tired action genre? 58 This year's crop of UGMs is cheaper and better than ever before. Our tech experts, Dave Salvator and Loyd Case, give you the lowdown on getting a great rig that will make your games shine — without breaking your wallet in the process. Ultimate Game Machine Start Your Own Game Company .246 README System Shock 2 Jane's A-10 Confirmed Kill Anachronox Daikatana and Much More! HARDWARE Hardware News 276 Loyd Case What the hell does Lord of the Rings have to do with hardware? 280 Killer Gaming Rigs 283 Intel Socket 8 OverDrive 286 Monsoon MM-1000 Planar Speakers 286 AQ force RS Wheel 288 Intel Celeron-A 333 288 Logitech Soundman Extreme Speakers 289 Proton 750i Monitor w/Speakers 289 Intensor Seat 292 ThrustMaster NASCAR Sprint Wheel 292 ViewSonic 15-inch LCD Monitor 296 GAMER'S EDGE Rainbow Six Our strategies will help you defeat any terrorists the game can throw at you 368 Scorpio's Mail Scorpia answers your toughest adventuring questions 372 Gamer's Edge Tips Tips for CREATURES 2, SHOGO. THE PEOPLE'S GENERAL, THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR, INDEPENDENCE WAR, FINAL FANTASY VII, AND PANZER COMMANDER 1.2 376 Rainbow Six DEPARTMENTS Johnny Wilson Is the PC game industry as myopic as it seems? 21 Denny Atkin The best and worst in gaming, 1 998 edition 24 Terry Coleman BLACKSTONE CRONICLES, and why a good story makes a great game 27 On the CG-ROM Demos, tools, and goodies on CD 30 On the Web Recommended reading on GameSpof and CGW Online 34 Letters Email missives and submissives 39 Reviews Introduction 30 i Reviews Index Three months of game ratings 305 Hall of Fame The greatest games of all time 380 Top 100 Readers rate the top games 382 Greenspeak Complain, complain, complain 384 REVIEWS Action Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero 308 Shogo 312 Klingon Honor Guard 316 Trespasser Jurassic Park 318 Return Fire 2 322 Simulations/Space F16 Multirole Fighter/ MiG 29 Fulcrum 326 Combat Flight Sim 330 Pro Pilot 332 Adventure/Role-playing Morpheus 334 Hexplore 336 Rage of Mages 338 EBKIHHi Grand Prix Legends 340 Need for Speed III 342 Madden 99 346 Front Office Football 348 NCAA Football 99 350 Caesar III Strategy/Wargames Caesar 111 352 Age of Empires Expansion Pack: The Rise of Rome 354 Knights and Merchants 356 Axis 8i Allies 358 Entrepreneur Corporate Expansion 360 War Along the Mohawk 362 Puzzle/Classics Creatures 2 364 ISOO A.O.- 900 A.D. 1200 A.D. 300 A.D. 600 A.D. 2000 0.C. 3000 B.C: 4000 e.c. COLONIZE THE PLANET AND BEYOND Retrace the steps of mankind across the globe. Build orbital space colonies and add speed to your arsenal. Discover and harvest vast oceanic resources to grow immense underwater empires. COMMAND, DEFEND, AND CONQUER Command powerful armies and make every social, economic and political decision. Deploy over 65 beautifully-detailed units, 7000 years worth of weaponry, and over 100 technological advances. AcliVisioH Introducing the Next Generation of the Greatest Strategy Game Series of All Time. CALL TO POWER More units, buildings, Wonders and technologies ■ Vast new realms: Space and Sea ■ Fully-animating, hi-res, 16-bit graphics Ail-new strategies. Including unconventional warfare ■ Breakthrough time-saving interface ■ Enhanced diplomatic and trade options Scenario Builder - internet and UN Multiplayer ■ All-new Wonders of the World in stunning cinematics COMING SOON TO SonwareForPCs.com WWW.aCtivisiOll.COm Go to #145 @ www.computergBmlng.com/infollnk Civilization; Call to Power &i 1998 Activision, Inc. Activision Is a registered trademark and Call to Power Is a trademark of Activision, Inc. CIVILIZATION computer games E 1991-1998 MIcroProse Soltware, Inc. CIVILIZATION Is a trademark or registered trademark of MIcroProse. Inc. or Its affiliated companies. This product Is made and sold under license from MIcroProse. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. 'The STB Velocity 4400 has surpassed the Creative TNT^as TNT card of choice. With fastet^penformanoB, TV-out, and a low price, the STB- Velocity 4400 might very well be the beSt TNT to date.„go for the Velocity inst^^^of the^Creative." 'The first word that comes to my mind when descdbing NVIDlA's new TNT 3D graphic a^elerator iSiWOW! The visual quality and frame rates. .vwere astounding." I m 01 hi tf tistB teml mmi 4M' b I mdiMl «l sn iiM, k M liri> ■ of ^ cind G200. All of Ire I'irig; .rtvazond.com • RIVA TNT "'' 1 28-bit 3D/2D and video accelerator • 1 6MB of memory for resolutions up to 1 920x1 200 • 250MHz RAMDAC for refresh rates up to 1 6 OH 2 • Output to monitor or TV (s-video & composite) • Windows 95, 98, NT and OpenGL support • Lifetime warranty and unlimited toll-free support • Available for AGP and PCI bus ;2VIDIA STB products are available at: www.stb.com r coMPjsfi -ffgij- BaCbage's .'SJt -I Go to #167 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink S1998 Westwood Studios. Inc. Lands ol Lore is a registered trademark and Westwood Studios is a iradeniark of Westwood Studios. Inc. 3Dfx and the 30jx logo are registered trademarks of SDfx IMeractive Inc. Alt rights reserved. Beyond the portal lies the most powerful Lands of Lore* experience yet. The Journal automatically chronicles your quest by identifying spells, describing creatures encountered, cataloguing magical recipes, showing skill levels and automapping your location. E urope 1940-1941, the German war machine has just conquered alf of France. Hitler's hordes look out across the English Channel to the White Cliffs of Dover and are ready to cross and bring Britain to her knees. Only one obstacle remains in their path-The British Royal Air Force! and creators of the famous Steel Panthers'” series, have teamed up n across ttie Scramble! Send up fighters to intercept incoming Direct hit! Check damage assessment on Individual Channel. Luftwaffe raids. targets— airfields, railroads and industrial facilities. with TalonSoft" to deliver a revolutionary new strategy wargame. combines an intensity and variable depth of play never experienced before in a computer wargame. ■lu ©Copyright 1998 TalonSoft Inc., RO, Box 43730, White Marsh, MD 21236 Call (410) 933-9191 or visit our web site at WWW.tBlOIISOftiiCOm TalonSoft's Battle of Britain™ is a registered trademark of TalonSoft Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respeclive holders. Go to #242 @ www.computergamlng.com/lnfolink Bad Moon Rising A Primer on PC Game Industry Myopia T he year was 1985. The Atari 2600 generation was dead, its only eulogy an incredible urban legend of E.T. cartridges buried in an Arizona land- fill. PC game publishers were scrambling for money to put out a few meager titles, and CEOs from game pub- lishers laughed loudly at the new 8-bit game machine from a playing card company in Japan, "Don't they know that the home game- machine market is dead?" smirked one such CEO (no longer in our business) at a Consumer Electronics Show when Nintendo unveiled its first entertainment system. But the last laugh was on the PC game industry, as well as on the retailers that laughed at Nintendo's initial contacts. Before the 8-bit days were over, Nintendo of America sold 30 million NE5 systems, making it the most popu- lar video game system ever. Nintendo won the battle for young- ster's hearts with a combination punch that included: a) ease of use. b) quality control standards, c) mar- ket inventory control, d) controlled price devaluation, and e) aggres- sive marketing, The PC game industry has grown (in terms of revenue earned, titles offered, and units sold) over the years, but has never had the phe- nomenal success experienced by Nintendo in the 8-bit market, Sega in the 16-bit market, and Sony in the 32-bit market. It seems like each time around, the merry marketing minions in the console world have to learn the old lessons anew. Lessons that the PC game market has never learned. There have been enough lamen- tations in this column about the lack of a stable platform and the implications of that lack upon ease- of-use, so I'll avoid that rant. wants to get the product "out of herel " Console makers build in a definite QA time and actually have gamers play the games in order to get an idea of play balance. How long has it been since you felt that a game had been "play balanced" prior to shipping? The most important secret to Nintendo's (and later, Sega's, and later. Sony's) success was inventory control. There was a time when I, as a free-market advocate, sneered at the monopolistic control of the market by the console manufaaur- ers as repressive. Yet I know this much; They would never have placed 3,700-f- titles on the market (as PC game publishers did in 1 998; see the article on holiday J^oad is the way that ieadeth unto destruction. y-Gam/ng Messiah However, the second point is some- what related to that issue. It's diffi- cult to have bug-free software with- out a standard machine to run that software on. That standard machine does not exist in the PC world, no matter what Mr. Gates' hucksters try to sell us. Yet we could and should learn a lesson from the con- sole world's quality assurance efforts. Too often, our development teams in the PC world work past the time when a program was scheduled to be mastered, and the product testing is conducted in a frenzied rush because the producer December Game Sales Source: PC Oatj 1 Yes KGsme Titles UnitsSddaDec Decffei«me Dec '92 1,139 3,623,552 5117.110,351 $375,660,339 Dec '93 1,315 4,384,174 $144,544,479 $636,667,875 Dec '94 1,835 4,694,400 $190,054,285 $808,011,857 Dec '95 2,266 7,018,760 $235,217,720 $914,741,525 Dec '96 2,420 8,958,603 $279,883,330 $1,072,306,763 Dec '97 3,150 11,751,269 $313,031,040 $1,293,621,614 Dec '98 (Est.) 3,780 14,101,522 $344,334,144 $1,409,918,197 glut in last month's Read.Me). In fact, you could always tell when a console machine was reaching its last legs because the manufactur- ers would increase the allotment of titles allowed to each licensee. In the PC world, we claim that we can regulate ourselves, and every year we promise that we'll do /ewerand better titles. And every year, the number of titles offered goes up. This means, inevitably, less retail shelf space as titles push and shove for attention; less marketing/advertising money per title as they attempt to get your attention; and (the spirit of a previ- ous point) less time for shaking down and fine-tuning individual products. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "We're going to make fewer, but higher quality products," I'd be able to upgrade my computer annually without working. In the console world, manufac- turers knew they could continually was a powerful weapon in fighting the shelf wars and it made certain that the products it released wouldn't ding the brand. In the PC world, we simply attempt to create branding on the fly. Put out a few clunkers? Change the name of the publisher. Botch the first release? Put up a patch or promise to get it right in the sequel/gold/special edition. The Big N guys understood that lousy products meant a lousy reputation. The PC game guys tend to think their customers suffer from amnesia. From the vantage point of a long-time (some say too-long) editor in this business, I think the PC game market is the closest to the Atari experience of 1984 that we've ever been. We're over- leveraged, understimulated, and oversated, if we don't start learning the lessons of sales curve past, 1999 is (in the ill-fated vernacular of Yogi Berra) going to look like deja vu all over again. i-r drop the retail price of the machine as long as they could produce it more cheaply. This would allow more machines to penetrate the mass market as the prices (as well as costs) dropped. In the PC game world, we keep seeing development budgets rise and retail costs drop. As it is, retailers are selling at near- zero profit and making their money from cooperative advertising and gimmicks. Where is the incentive for quality if the retailers make their money with or without a sale? The ex-preacher in me wants to say, "Broad is the way that Ieadeth unto destruction" when I see the pathetic situation at retail. Nintendo used aggressive mar- keting. It understood that its brand h CS www.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 A '» c;i Environmental Audio’* bv CREATIVE* Half-Life supports a variety of 3D cards, but one is not required. first and foremb^ must-buy title of the sead - PC Gamer ‘‘A dizzyiiig marriage of non-stop action and narrative.f ^ - Co m p ute r G a m i n g Wojl^f “Tour de Force.. .a symphoni|^j|l|MdA£f>^ ' actidft, drama, adventure and stmv^’ - Unified Gamers Online ?L|fe is the best D game in existence.” -PC Gamer UK “Half-Life restored my faith in gaming.” -Gamespot “Oh...my...God.” -Adr^feline .V O'EV ElO P I D STUDIOS W W W ,,S I E R fi A S T U 0 I 0 S . C O M VALVE © 1998 Sierra On-Line, Inc.,® and/or™ designate trademarks of, or licensed to Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, WA 98007. All'rjghls reserved. ^9JlfIV3lv^L.LC. All ^tsjfiserved. Valve anrt^tha Vaive logo are trademarks of Valve LLC-.This product contains software lechnology licensed from Id Software, Inc. ("Id Technology''), Id %tinol.dnfe I995ltd So{^ace,,iijc. D)fect3p is^ifradelnaflji ,.8>id y^oft^nd Windowd are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporatfon. OpenGL js a trademark of Silicon Graptiics Computer Systems. ' Goto#182 ® www.compufik^amingicom/infoUnk f„ What Rocks, What Bites k Look at the Good and Bad in Gaming: 1998 Edition T his lime last year I gave awards in this column celebrating the best and worst of the year's gaming trends. Since the column was focused on sims {I've since been unleashed on the entire industry by the powers that be at CGWl, the awards were named after the superb F-15 Eagle and the anemic Brewster Buffalo. Those aren't really appropriate for more genera! lauds and criticisms, though, and I resisted Thierry "Scooter" Nguyen's suggestion to label trends as "Da Bomb" and "Hella Gimpy." So without further ado, let's look at 1998's utilitarianly named Gaming Ups and Gaming Downs, Gaming Ups One trend that hasn't gotten much attention but which deserves appreciation is the upsurge in mis- sion editors being included with games. Special kudos to Activision for including the actual mission development tools for games like BATTLEZONE on game CDs. Even if you don't want to create your own missions, these editors mean you'll find a wealth of extended game- play opportunities on the Net. Similarly, applause to Microsoft and Activision/Parsoft for making the formats for their planes avail- able. We're looking forward to a wealth of cool add-on planes for COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR and FIGHTER SQUADRON. Wonderful gaming experi- ences — and huge crowds — were found on Microsoft's Internet Gaming Zone, Jane's Combat.Net, and Blizzard's battle.net. We're happy to see services like Game- storm adopt more realistic pricing models ($9.99/month is a killer deal for what it offers), but the mass-market future is with the companies who offer free play and make their money off selling boxed games or online advertising. Kudos to AMD for the K6-2 processor with 3DNow! tech- nology, which offers Pentium II- level performance for Socket 7 computers. I wouldn't actually choose the processor myself (I put in my decade as an Amiga user — I'm allowed to be main- stream now), but you can be sure that the great prices on Pentium I! and Celeron systems are more due to the competition from the likes of AMD than to any gen- erosity on Intel's part. The drop in system prices is a mixed "Up." It's great that we can buy top-of-the-line gaming Gaming Downs The biggest bummers of 1998 were when great games didn'tseW in a market in which some utter crap has posted huge numbers. BAHLEZONE and F22 ADF are prime examples, BATTLEZONE— which got a five-star CGW review — sold about one-tenth the number of copies that DEER HUNTER sold. C'mon, there's 300,000 of you reading this. Let's all go buy copies of BATTLEZONE right now. Put down the mag and make a statement about good games. {And no. I'm not on Activision's payroll. You're thinking of Jeff Green.) Another downer was the licensing frenzy around ancient arcade titles. BATTLEZONE might have sold better If It hadn't been saddled with the moniker of a dusty old arcade game that most of us grew bored with after about five quarters. Jeers to Intel for doing its best to defeat overdocking by power- between the OpenGL and DirectX camps have petered out. but the fact remains that novice gamers are still faced with games support- ing various combos of Direct3D, OpenGL, and 3Dfx Glide, Hey Microsoft — why not add a "plug- in" architecture to DirectX6 that would allow companies like 3Dfx to add new 3D features without waiting for a major DirectX revi- sion? Then we could put propri- etary APIs to bed once and for all. Four million bucks spent on DOMINION: STORM OVER GIFT 3— our industry's equivalent to the S40 million poured into Ken Starr's foray into erotica writing. Just think — Ion Storm could have spent that money sprucing up their facili- ties (maybe they could use another row of $4,000 seats for their THX- equipped in-office theater). The obligatory flame goes out to every company that released a game that needed patches to be good. How many gamers will never know that RAINBOW SIX, iF/A-18, Finish the games, then ship them. This trend could kill our industry. PCs for under $2,000 now, and that the surge in power will make for even more impressive games. But that has to be frustrating to folks who've found their Pentium 233MMX systems to be already on the anemic side. A surprising Up was Windows 98. Sure, the upgrade was unnec- essary for most Win 95 users. But after spending a few months with the operating system, I've been very impressed with its stability and ease of {re)installation. Finally, cheers to the developers of HALF-LIFE and RAINBOW SIX, who showed us that 3D shooters can be about more than fast reflexes and cool lighting effects. users in its latest Celeron and Pentium II revisions. While we're happy that unknowing consumers won't be as easily taken by dealer- remarked processors, we're sad to see savvy users prevented from getting extra game performance out of their systems. If this really is to protect consumers and not just a marketing decision, how come almost every user who tried to overclock a Celeron 266MHz to run at 400MHz (or even at 448MHz) was successful? The conspiratorial- ly inclined might suspect that processors are being anrferclocked by Intel for marketing purposes. Another downer was the 3D API confusion. The heated exchanges and Ml TANK PLATOON II ended up being good gaming experiences? Finish the games, then ship them. This trend could kill our industry. Raspberries to the developers of every DOS game released in 1998. DOS is dead, Jim. Move on. The biggest downer of the year was Dani Bunten Berry passing on. She was a talent who ranked right up with Sid Meier. Her M.U.L.E. and SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD helped keep me sane in college. She practically invented multiplayer gaming. And she was a funny, gracious, and def- initely interesting individual. The industry will miss her, and the loss of her talents is one that all gamers share. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 /computcrgammg.c THE INTERNET’S GAME SUPERSTORE B- // GREAT PRICES ON THESE TITLES & MORE 1 - 800 - 610-2614 VIP CODE: CGW4 WWW.GAMEDEALER.COM Lots of Information Prompt Delivery $4.00 Shipping* 0 HAi L r-L 1 r c 1^9 nm ENEMY INFESTATION HALF - LIFE FALLOUT 2 NHL '99 WINDOWS MACINTOSH t; PLAYSTATION NINTENDO SEGA^ Fox 1-212-387-8021 International 1-212-358-9100 251 PokAve South New York, NY 10010 *$4.00 rate US Priority Mail, US orders only. Additional shipping methods are avoiloble. ** All orders placed before January 30, 1999. © 1998 ActionWorlil, Inc. All rights reserved. The Gome Dealer lego, The Internet's Gome Superstore and I Ploy Gomes are trademarks or registered trademarks of AciionWorld, Inc. in the IIS ond other countries. All ether trodemorks belong to their respective owners. Go to #295 © www.computergaming.com/infoiink SPACE MARINES* vs. THE FORCES Of CHAOS GATE* is squad-level, turn-based tactical ! action that's utterly uut nf this wnrid! Cummand a squad of up to 2D Space Marines'* and pursue the evil Chaos Space Marines'* through the Warhammer'* 4D.0.D0 universe! > PURSUE the campaign immediately, or take>on randomly generated missions to gain experience and acguire , items of power. Whichever you choose — prepare for'the unexpected! • CDMMANO the vehicles nf the Wabhammer® 4D.00D universe: Predator tanks. Rhino APCs. Land Speeders and Dreadnoughts. wommf tfiNDOWS‘35 CD-ROM '©1S98 Strategic Simulations. Inc. All ilglils reserved. The SSI logo Isaregislercd irndemaiR and CHAOS GATE is a trademark ol Strategic SImulaliorts. Inc. Artwork and Imagery 01998 Games Workshop Lid. Warhammer. Games Workshop and Space Marines arc rcgislcrod trademarks and Ullrartiarines. Predators. Rhino. Deadnoughts. Terminators artd Oevastalors are trademarks ol Games Workshop Ltd. Windows ts a registered trademark or trademark of Microsolt Corporation in llie United Stales and/or other courttries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respeclive holders. Co to #1 32 @ www.computergaming.coin/lnfolink WWW.CHADSGATE.COM Played a Good Book Lately? BUICKSTONE CHRONICLES Is a PC Page-turner T here are few things in iife more satisfying than curl- ing up next to a fireplace with a cat in your lap, a bowl of fresh Cheez-lts at your side, and a really good book. If you spend as much time on planes and trains as I do, you find other ways to enjoy your favorite authors. Listening to Wiiliam Gibson read Neuromancer on tape once heiped me through a particu- larly turbulent East Coast flight. And the iate Roger Zeiazny's recital of A Night in the Lonesome October is as close to the consum- mate Halloween entertainment as you're iikeiy to find this side of Beia Lugosi's ghost, But one way I've rarely been able to enjoy my favorite books is when they've been transiated into games. Part of this is a lack of vision on the part of game pro- ducers: The same sort of get-the- license-first thinking that gives us bad Batman movies aiso gives us bad Spider-Man games. Because the peopie in charge think the audience for these products must be the juvenile market, the prod- ucts themselves suffer from being dumbed down. One would think, however, that mysteries and thriiiers wouidn't have this problem since the audi- ences for these stories range from young aduit and upward. How- ever, the only game of signifi- cance based on a literary work in the past few years was 1 HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM, Vl/hile that game garnered critical acclaim — it was CGWs adven- ture game of the year in 1 996—1 HAVE No MOUTH bombed at the box office. Legend in the Making Help is finally on the way. Legend Entertainment has teamed with horror novelist John Saul to do a game based on the author’s best-selling The Blackstone Chronicles, which shouid be avaii- abie about the time you read this. One of the reasons that THE BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES fares bet- ter than attempts by other high- powered authors (such as Michaei Crichton's somnambuiistic AMAZON) is that the game was developed essentially as an addi- tional novel in the series — much like Raymond Feist's BETRAYAL AT KRONDOR (Dynamix, 1993). needless abstractions of games like THE 11TH HOUR. As you journey through your father's asylum — now converted to a museum — you're confronted by the horrors perpetrated by your father in the name of psychological research. The more facts you dis- cover, the more you must deal with his iegacy as well as your own unsavory past. Moreover, you can never be really sure exactly how much is real and how much is your imagination; Can this reaiiy be your father's ghost speaking to you? Is your son actually in danger? Did you somehow help put him there? Aside from the whodunit aspects of the game, BLACKSTONE is particuiariy powerful in its depic- tion of psychological treatments. For example, it's one thing to read about some random individual undergoing electroshock therapy. BLACKSTONE's puzzles derive naturally from the plot line, a refreshing change from games like THE 11 TH HOUR. The RIVEN crowd will swoon over BLACK- STONE's sumptuous graphics, courtesy of Presto Studios (THE JOURNEYMAN PROJECT series), and game- starved fans of tradi- tional adventures will enjoy the tightly woven and atmospheric story, which at times struck me as even more enjoy- able than the books. What impresses me most is that the puz- zles — the heart of any adventure game — derive naturally from the plot line, a refresh- ing change from the It's quite another to have your character strapped into a chair dur- ing the game, trying to find a way out as the clock ticks down to the initiation of flowing current. It's the pacing of the game — sometimes thoughtful then switch- ing to stark immediacy — that makes BLACKSTONE work as a PC thriller. As adventure games try to reinvent themselves in the post- MYST era, this is one game that can really appeal to both main- stream and core audiences. My hat's off to Legend and to Mindscape for publishing this one. Maybe one of these days we'll be able to argue whether A TALE OF TWO CITIES for Windows 2001 is better than Super-DVD FAHRENHEIT 451 . We can only hope. A ii.computergaf7iing,< COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 O 1998 CalBway2000. Inc. All rights reserved. Gateway and Ihe Gateway slyirzed logo arolradomarks.and Oealrnalion and Field Mojse are registered trademarks ol Gateway 2000, Inc. The Intel Irrside Logo and Intel ara registered trademarks, and Celeron is a trademark ol the Intel CorporaLcm. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks ol Iheir respective companies. All prices and conligurations are subject to change without notica Of obligation. Pncesdorot include shipping and handling or any other applicabla taxes. Many Gateway products are engineered to Gateway specifications, which may vary Irom retail versions ol Iho software and'or hardware in lunclionahty, performance or compalibilrty. 1. Maximum data Iransfor rate dependent upon cetlain vanables, incjugmg panicular moderns wlh vrh'ich you are conimunicatino, telephone lines, communicalions soltware and communicaiions protdcois. 2. Calf 1-8(jO-GATEWAY or wnte us at Gateway Terms & Conditions, RO. Box 1951, North Sioux City, St? 57049-1951 tor a free copy of our If home entertainment is your game, Destination® XTV is the ultimate thrill. It’s an ultra-high resolution monitor. It’s a DVD player for movies in pure digital clarity. It’s a high-end audio system. A game station. Internet access. Even a PC. Simply put, it combines an intense set of features for performance that’ll leave you breathless without ever leaving your living room. Desfinafion^ eicATsays Destination XTV 27" Television • Ultra-high Resolution — 600 Lines Progressive Scan • Dual Mode Screen Optimization • Digitolly Enhanced & Line Doubled TV Output • 181-Channel, Cable-ready TV Tuner Installed • On-screen Control of VCR, Stereo & Other AA/ Devices DVD Player • Full Pixel Density DVD Playback • C-Cube High-Performonce Hardware MPEG Decoder • Dolby* Digital Output • Plays Audio CDs. PC Games and Applications Digital Audio System • Creative Audio High-Fidelity Wavetable Sound • High Signal-to-Noise Ratio with Integrated Speakers • Three Audio Inputs with Analog and Digital Outputs Came Station • Supports Microsoft® Windows®OS-Based Games • Internet MultiPlayer Gaming Support • High-Performance 3-D Graphics Internet Access • Fast Internet Access with Installed SSK'Technology Modem • High-Resolution Clarity on Ail Sites • Data, Fax, and Visual Caller ID Alert PC Features • Latest Technology Intel* Celeron™ Processor • 3.2GB Storage Capacity • Cordless Keyboard and Field Mouse* Universal Remote ■ Microsoft Windows 98 • Microsoft Home Essentials™ Software • Gateway Gold™ Service’ $1999 or As low as $56/month for 48 months’ Internet access provided by gateway.net^'^ for $14.95/mo.^ Home Theater Upgrade-$999 ■ 36" Television (35.5" Viewable) ■ Boston Acoustics® Digital Theater™ 6000 Dolby® Digital Surround Sound System Celeron' Let’s talk about your Gateway call 1-800-846-8571 www.destination.com ON THE CC-ROM Make Time Fly Climb In, Take Off and Blow Stuff Up on the CD-ROM WORLD WAR II FIGHTERS Fiy as an /^encan or German fighter in the demo of this amazing sim from Jane's If you liked Ubi Soft's FI Racing Simulation, take this out for a spin F ighter jocks are in for a treat this month. We bring you an exclusive demo of the CG-Choice winning Total Air War. Get a taste of a real dynamic campaign as you try to secure the Sudanese border in less than 12 hours. If your tastes run more toward classical planes, then fire up the Jane's World War II Fighters demo. You’ll get alternating missions as either American pilots attacking a town, or a Luftwaffe ace trying to intercept said Americans. WWII Fighters will be the game to show your friends how powerful your new computer is, thanks to the beautiful 3D engine. If you're more of a driver than a flyer, take a spin in Ubi Soft's Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation; you get to race two tracks in this demo from the people who brought you FI Racing Simulation. Fans of Sid Meier's classic Railroad Tycoon will want to see If Phil Steinmeyer (designer of the first two Heroes of Might & Magic games) can recreate that old Sid magic with the demo of Railroad Tycoon II. You can either try to become a multimillionaire from the period between 1 870 to 1 905, or you could try to make a railroad that connects Cape Town and Cairo. Once you've mastered those two scenarios, you can fiddle with the map editor and lay out your own scenarios; you can't save in the demo, but at least you can brush up on the skills necessary for map-making. Action gamers, be sure to load up Vigilance, the Golden EvE-style shooter where you play one of three agents sent out to assassinate a base commander. Once you've exhausted the single-player In the demo, you can hook up for a multiplayer deathmatch via H.E.A.T. Finally, if you own a copy of Warlords III: Dark Loros Rising (a CG-Choice winner from last issue), you can install the three new Red Orb-created scenarios. PRODUCT NAME PLATFORM 3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball W95 Dark Side of the Moon video W95 Dead Reckoning W95 Dominant Species W95 Monaco Grand Prix Racing W95 Railroad Tycoon II W95 TEN W95 Total Air War W95 Vigilance W95 WWII Fighters W95 DirectX 5.2 W95 Warlords III: DLR scenarios W95 DIRECTORY/DEMOS EXECUTABLE NASCAR pinball pinball.exe dark side dsom.mpg dead reckoning setup.exe dominant sp setup.exe monaco mgprs_d6.exe RR tycoon setupex.exe TEN setup.exe TAWdemo setup.exe vigilance setup.exe WWII fighters WWI1FightersDemo.exe directx dx5eng.exe wldlr scenarios *.w3s How To Use the Disc ■he CD is Autoplay-enabled and should begin upon loading it into the CD-ROM drive. Otherwise, from the Start Menu in Windows 95 and type D:\RUN-ME (where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) to run it straight from the CD. You may type D:\INSTALL to create a CGW program group on your Windows desktop for future fun. Many demos require the disc to be in the CD-ROM drive in order to run; therefore, we recommend installing the demos from our disc. To Get the CD-ROAA T o subscribe to the CD-ROM version of the magazine, call (303) 665-8930. If you already receive the magazine without the CD, you must wait until your current subscription expires before receiving the CD version. Please address subscription complaints to cgw@neodata.com. Neodata is a magazine fulfillment house that is not owned or operated by Ziff-Davis. a. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 / .computergaming. c 1 Empire, this official Expaosion Pack also includes features four new campaigns and production queues to I Pick, 01998 Miciowtl Coi| Presenting the Age of Empires Expansion: The Rise of Rome. Age of Empires is now going where you always and punishing Fire Galley— all on new and challenging jiik wanted it to go: Rome. In addition to the Roman maps. Plus, this highly anticipated Expansion Pack the legendary civilizations of Palmyra. Macedonia, and Carthage, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Test your mettle with new units like the crafty Camel Rider, powerful Scythe Chariot, fearless Slinger, carefully plan your historic civilization's growth. So visit www.microsoft.com/gamcs/aoccxpansion and start extending Age of Empires into a new era of world domination. Microsoft @ 1998 ActirMon, Inc. All r^bb men^ SPECIAL OPS STEALTH-SQUAD COMBAT IN 40 INDOOR/OUTDOOR MISSIONS. BATTLES IN HOSTILE SCI-FI CONDITIONS - CflCTFR COMBAT ACTION WITH ACTIVISION'S FROM OUTER SPACE TO SWAMP ZONES. iHu I Ell ALL-NEW DARK SIDE ENGINE. AHACKS ON INTELUGENT ENEMY FORCES THAT ADAPT TO YOUR TACTICS. ON THE WEB Go Get It Online Plug In for the Latest News, Reviews, Demos, and Strategies F or the best in gaming, turn to the experts at GameSpot and C6W Online. You'll find a wealth of news, reviews, and previews as well as cool demos and hard-core strategies for all the hottest games. You'll also find excellent technical advice and game-based hardware reviews from technical guru Loyd Case, Don't waste time or hard-earned cash — when you need accurate information, read what the pros have to say at www.gamespot.com. Hot Previews For the latest previews, turn your browser to GameSpot, where we've got extended previews of the industry's hottest upcoming games. We also keep our eye out for those sleeper games that sneak under the radar or just won't fit in the pages of Computer Gaming World. Here is a sample of some of the previews you can expect at GameSpot. Heroes of Might and Magic Hi Now that you've no doubt read CGWs early preview of Heroes of Might and Magic III (in the December "Holiday Hot 100" issue), goto GameSpot, where you'll find a longer preview with even more detailed information on the game's campaigns, each of the 1 6 new hero types, the 8 castle types, and descriptions of the more than five dozen new monsters and spells. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri GameSpot Aptitude Test Our biggest feature this year is our GameSpof Aptitude Test, a compilation of 160 questions that will test even the most devoted computer game fan's knowledge of games. This is the first test of its kind, covering a decade of games and designers. We've got all sorts of questions, including multiple choice, analogies, matching, audio and visual questions. Think you know games? Think again. Take the 6a/ne5pof Aptitude Test and see if you're a master of game knowledge or just a thumb-twiddling neophyte. Designer Diaries For the latest news on the most anticipated games of the coming year, check out GameSpots designer diaries, accounts of game design from the developers themselves. You'll find monthly updates on Diablo II, Dark Reign II, and other hot titles. W e've got some of the best talent in the business working hard to bring you the ultimate strategies for the toughest and most-played games. Our strategy guides include detailed campaign or mission walkthroughs, complete unit and weapons descriptions, general tips, and multiplayer strategies to upset your smug online enemies. You'il find detailed guides on Half-Life Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Dune 2000 Commandos StarCraft Age of Empires: Rise of Rome and More GameSpof has an online exclusive with Firaxis Games to be the first one to play the full-featured beta of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. We go into detail about the gameplay, technology, units, and diplomacy, and even score an interview with the game's designer, Brian Reynolds. Black and White Peter Molyneux's newest game is Black and White, and GameSpot executive editor Ron Dulin has the full scoop. We bring you a multipage preview and never-before-seen screenshots. As one of the first games in recent years to benefit from Molyneux's full attention, this will be a game to watch. GameSpot Columns GameSpot is just crammed with gaming goodness, not the least of which are our very own columns. Our editors sound off on every conceivable subject, including the state of game music, Ultima IX's growing pains, how Saving Private Ryan changed one editor's wargaming experience, and whether genre classifications are really useful anymore. K'iVJ A COMPUTER gaming WORLD - JANUARY 1999 /.computergaming.c Eniichi kiivut Ingdunn II •\ncl TliaTryhun ^.iis l>fd,tr.1dnn^Arks imd InleraeUv; Music I rri'd UAoC^vKoHnichKtlvc IVUglc>'li<£*AIL.E CNKNnSS WITH A OtSCt^POE r.lF nORPOBJM|i: '-^OINON. Lurker: Zerg Heavy Support Beast l_UMBCR»NO HUUK, CAPASL-E OP SURKCJWINS ANO ATTACKINtS V'RCIM ire UNOSROROUNO UAIP. Terran Fieid Surgeon BATTI-EPICUD SUPPORT UNIT SPEClAl-IZINO IN eMCROCNCV MEDICAL. CARE. Valkyrie Bomber: Terran Missile Frigate HSAVr SUPPORT 3MIP. □ rOR WIOE AREA DAMASE. MORETMISSjONS9BB|| Miiiiiii I lull 01 Cofsaif: Pfotoss Support Fifihtar’ Aiff'-ra'Am assauu) uott cicjuipp^o WITH NEUTRON ruARlMI ANO OlSRUr Web generator. ^ Oark Archan; ProtQss Psionic Entity PaWFRfIJI, TNEROY BEING WIT ABlUiry TO lAKE poesEseiON UNITS THROUSH MINO UaNTRI Go to #266 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink FIRST LOOK! Space Case SYSTEM SHOCK 2 Pushes The Boundaries Again Now that we have computers fast enough to play the 1 994 classic, SYSTEM SHOCK, some of the original developers are creat- ing a sequel that wilt throw down the gauntlet again. For those who didn't play it, the action/adventure hybrid brought toads of innovations, including a true 30 engine, sophisticated physics, and the ability to lean, crouch, climb walls, crawl through shafts, and look up and down. Looking Glass Studios combined these features with an elaborately detailed space sta- tion populated with mutants, cyborgs and a malevolent central computer. Our December, 1994, review awarded the game four and one-half stars, calling it "one hell of an immersive experience in a fully realized 3D environ- ment." The sequel will retain much of the flavor of its ground-breaking predecessor, says the game's lead designer Ken Levine. You'll explore a cyberpunk-style space ship with an invento- ry, weapons and special skills including psionics and data hacking. You'll be able to lean and pull yourself up onto ledges, and 5 there will be more to r interact with, he I says. The game is £ broken into levels i by ship decks, i but the world is 3 persistent, so A you can leave an ammo clip on one deck, and come back later to retrieve it. The queen of malevolent mainframes, SHODAN, is back, but in a very different role (with even more "air" time than before). It's your job to kick the crap out of her robotic minions and shut her down. Expect plen- ty of resistance from motion-cap- tured mutants and cyborqs. One of the main criticisms about SYSTEM SHOCK wa^ that it tacked a sense of character development. The designers are working to improve this with role-piaying-style character depth. It begins with an innova- tive in-engine character-genera- tion system. You visit a recruiting office on Earth to choose one of three basic character types; Navy, Marines, or Secret Ops. After choosing your character type, you'll head to the starbase of that service. You develop your character there by choosing from missions during your period in the service (similar to the old paper RPG Traveller)- The game is being developed in a partner- ship between Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games. They're using a modified version of Looking Glass' Dark Engine, which is being used for THIEF: THE DARK PROJECT. The engine supports 16 bit color; COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 You'll find of corpses on ship. Note ^ Psionics mu^ function displaj to the rigm jlimpse at Engineering dynamic, colored lighting; a particle effects system; and objects with multi- ple translucency. Irrational is also building multiplayer support into the game. They haven't released hardware requirements yet, but we do know the game will require a 3D card. We'll continue to follow the game's development as it nears its Warthog O ur spies recently infil- II v I I trated the Austin, I _ _ Texas-based I Skunkworks of Jane's r spies recently I trated the Austin, Texas-based Skunkworks of Jane's Combat Simulations. We were expecting to find the team dili- gently working on LONGBOW III— the version rumored to be so detailed it would not only feature trees, but anacondas hanging from their branches. Rather than hearing rotor blades, the staccato "brraaack" of an Avenger cannon rattled the room, as an A-10 spewed depleted-uranium shells into the carcass of a Soviet-built tank. Instead of seeing a Longbow, we found a Warthog. JANE'S A-1 0 will let you fly the ugly but deadly ground attack jet flying a variety of missions, including strike, close air support, search and destroy, and escort tasks. Perhaps most interesting is the inclusion of a Forward Air Controller mission which will let you fly your Warthog into the war zone, identify targets, call in air strikes, and watch the deadly results. We uncovered a few more details during our recon, such as force-feedback support that will let you /ee/theA-lO's Avenger cannon, and support for cooperative multi- player missions over Jane's Combatnet. We even overheard optimistic murmers of a February ship date. We're assembling our team now for a deep cover recon mission, and expect to have full details on the sim in next month's issue. -Denny Atkin Re-Confirmed C Kill k ONFIRMED KILL, the World War II massively multiplayer ^ flight sim which graced CGWs cover way over three years ago, is finally nearing takeoff. I recently put in some stick time in the beta version at Eidos' offices in San Francisco, and I'm pleased to report that this is coming together as one of the most innovative online sim designs in recent years. And best of all, a variety of adjustable mission settings make the design accessible to new pilots (a necessity for a successful online sim) while still main- taining the depth and accuracy demanded by experienced hard-core sim fans. Rather than the persistent online contests found in most other online sims, CONFIRMED KILL will let gamers recreate historical missions and campaigns, such as island-hopping in the Pacific, the Battle of Midway, and the potential German invasion of the UK. Human pilots will team with Al fliers to create realistic force balances. Most intrigu- ing, though, is an adap- tation of the Flying NIGHTMARES 2 Commandant map which will let squadron commanders view recon of enemy territo- ries and direct pilots to take out specific targets. An honor- point system will encourage realistic and sportsmanlike gameplay, and as pilots gain points they'll be eli- gible for promotions and medals. CONFIRMED KILL is scheduled to be playable as a free open beta on TEN at www. ten.net by the time you read this. ^ — Denny Atkin ' ^ COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999i v.computergaming.( GAME UPDATES Ambitious Anachronox Tom Hall's Homage to SquareSoft Is Progressing Nicely F ans of console-RPGs such as FINAL FANTASY VII should keep an eye out for ANACHRONOX when it hits the shelves in late 1 999. We got to see ION Storm's pre- mier RPG, and it's looking pretty good. While the game utilizes the QUAKE li engine, it's almost a complete overhaul. For one thing, the art is a lot more colorful, and the game is played from the third-person perspective. The most profound changes are in the role-playing elements added to the engine, including dialogue and a new combat system. Veterans of FINAL FANTASY VII and CHRONO TRIGGER {the two SquareSoft games that influenced ANACHRONOX) will be at home with the combat sys- tem. The game's plot spans several planets and dimensions, and you'll be controlling three out of seven available party characters at any given time. The other interesting addition is how editable the ANACHRONOX engine will be. Like id, Tom Hall plans to release the materials that let you edit items such as camera shots (all cutscenes use the game engine), dialogue, and weapons and items, In effect. Hall is hoping that ANACHRONOX is treated both as a game and as a set of RPG tools, where people can create their own RPG if they have the time to commit to it. We'll keep you posted as the game progresses. features including auto-aiming crosshairs. The — Thierry Nguyen crosshairs won't be necessary all the time, especially if you're using some of the more powerful, magical weapons such as the staff that summons a gigantic demon that immediately slays the nearest being. Summon this charmer without an enemy nearby and kiss your time- travelling butt goodbye. With Ion Storm polishing up the single player game and heading full bore into the multiplayer, DAIKATANA should be out by late Spring. — Robert Coffey Dai katana Shoots for Spring T he bad news is that DAIKATANA continues to be delayed. The good news is that all that time actually is going toward making the game better. And from what we’ve seen, it seems to be paying off. The shift to the QUAKE II engine is now complete and the results are simply beautiful. Huge, stunningly lit levels should be the rule in this title, particularly in the menacing medieval castle spotlighted during the Eidos Press Day. Currently, the expanded design team is going through every level on a room by room basis, adding unique features, interesting objects, and animations. According to John Romero, "The goal is to have something cool in every room." Given the enormous nature of the levels, it's a daunting, but admirable, task. Ion Storm's work on the Al was ably demonstrated in a demo that had enemies using cover and teamwork to slay every gaming editor that tried to beat it. We hope that the monsters in the finished product will be just as nasty. Pretty much every feature included in the ambitious original design document exists in the game, as well as new COMPUTER GAMING WORLD* JANUARY 1999 /compulergamiiiR.c Build and Program Your Own Robots Lego .My Robot Former CG\N Technical Editor Mike Weksleris the associate producer ofEidos' CONFIRMED KILL. L ego MindStorms has re-defined the smart toy category. With arr ingenious convergence of Lego accessories and the home computer, MindStorms allows a user to create autonomous, computer-controlled robotic devices ranging from environmental explorers to battle tanks. These aren't just motorized Lego cre- ations — these are robots that actually react to their environment with the aid of touch, light, and tem- perature sensors. They can seek the safety of a dark corner; negotiate small obstacles; or act like simple pets that just roam about freely. You program the robot in two easy steps. The icon- ic. drag 'n drop interface is easy to use and looks more like puzzle-building than programming. When you're through, you beam the program to the robot's "brain" via an infrared transmitter attached to your serial port. The robot is now ready to be unleashed into the world. In a couple of hours a computer savvy, mechanical- ly inclined user can begin building simple robots. To build something more advanced like a Mars Pathfinder could take several hours or days. While not particularly complicated, the sheer vol- ume of the kit can be daunting. There are more than 700 Lego pieces in the kit, including the RCX comput- er brain; two touch sensors: one light sensor (rotation and temperature sensors are available separately); two motors; a software package including a setup program and tutorials; and complete documentation, in addition, you can augment the kit with nearly any Lego pieces, including the Lego Technic series and three special MindStorms Expansion Sets. The system does have a few drawbacks, though. First, the MindStorms software runs at 640x480 which makes it hard for a user to work with a large RCX program in the programming environment. Additionally, the interface is in 256 colors, so the user has to switch the computer's graphics mode down to 8bit. The RCX transmitter uses a serial port so the user may have to unplug a modem or other accessory. Also, some users have reported that they occasionally have to re-download the firmware to the RCX. The iconic programming sys- tem does not seem to use all of the capabilities of the RCX hardware as some advanced programmers may wish to use the "Not Quite C" scripting lan- guage to access programming variables. Finally, having five separate memory areas in which to store RCX programs in a user's robot may not be as effective as having one large memory area. Anyone who grew up with Lego and knows how to turn on a computer would have a great time building and programming robots with MindStorms. It's the rare computer toy that is non- violent, appeals to kids and adults alike, and is truly fun to play with. — Mike Weksler u Programming your creations is simple with this drag-n-drop interface. You then beam the program to the robot via infrared, and he's ready to roll. Requires a Pentium 90 or belter using Windows 95/98. O LEGO MindStorms. $200. 800-243-4870. www.legomindstorms.com O COMPUTER CAMINO WORLD » JANUARY 1999 A Welcome To Blackstone Asylum Fasten your straight-jacket. It’s time to immerse yourself in the chilling world of John Saul’s Blackstone Chronicles'- An Adventure in Terror - the first collaborative effort between NY Times best-selling author John Saul and Legend Entertainment. Stunning 24-bit artwork surrounds you in the evil that is Blackstone Asylum - where tortured spirits from the past offer you the only hope of saving your missing family. And your sanity. Bon appetit. jQ[j|^ www.Blackstone-Chronicles.com ipUEGEND John Saul's Blacksione Chronicles: An Adveniine In Terror ©1998 lAntlscspe, Inc. All rignts leservM. John Saul’s name and likeness are lire piopeny q 1 John Saul, The original novel 'The Blacksloi>eCnronicies’®1997 John Saul. UsedunacrlicensebyMinrJscape, Inc. in conjunctton with Legend Enlenammenl. Windovrs is a registered Irademark or irademaik ol Microsoft Corporation in the United Slates and/or other countries. All other Iiademaiks and copyrights are the properly ol Ihcir restwclive holders. , Go to #191 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Sir-Tech Shutters Publishin Canadian Group Continues Development On Two Games P ioneer role-playing publisher Sir-Tech Software closed the doors of its U.S. publishing operation on October 14, 1998. The New York-based company was largely a victim of the changing marketplace for PC games. Since its foundation in 1981 with the publica- tion of such games as GALACTIC AnACK and WIZARDRY: PROVING GROUNDS OF THE MAD OVERLORD, Sir-Tech successfully marketed a handful of releases per year and was one of the first companies in the PC market- place to establish a success- ful licensed franchise in Japan (including WIZARDRY manga and a WIZARDRY TV series). The company also published German-based Attic Software's DAS SCHWARZE AUGE series of computer RPGs as REALMS OF ARKANIA in the U.S. In recent days, Sir-Tech weathered huge losses from numerous sources: distribu- tor bankruptcies: the failure of theTelstar line of UK products in the U.S.: and several hundred thousand dollar losses on X-FIRE, an Internet-capable game that never reached a viable performance level. Now, the company's Canadian develop- ment division will continue as Sir-Tech Canada and is expected to finish WIZARDRY and JAGGED ALLIANCE 2, the latest products in Sir-Tech's most successful two franchises. Norm Sirotek, one of Sir-Tech's co-founders, commented on the bittersweet nature of the company's history by quoting his father, Fred Sirotek's favorite statement about the publishing business: "[The software market] is akin to standing with one foot on a banana peel and the other foot in a grave, while drinking champagne and eating caviar." Thus passes the end of a pioneering era. — Johnny Wilson Interplay Cuts Back I nterplay laid off about 10 percent of its worldwide staff— approximately 50 people — in late October. The cuts followed Interplay's dismal financial report for the quarter ending September 30. The company reported a net loss for the quarter of S15.1 million (compared with a net loss of S5.5 million for the same period in 1997). The company attributed the loss to "ship- ping delays for FALLOUT 2 and lower than expected sales for WILD 9." Anonymous sources close to Interplay say that blaming FALLOUT 2 for the company's woes is like "Blaming the 7/fan/cdls- aster on the last life preserver being late to hit the water." The worst casualty in the cuts was Tribal Dreams, which was eliminated. The in-house development team responsible for OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS had been working on STAR TREK: SECRET OF VULCAN FURY, a title the gaming press had greeted enthusiastically. Meanwhile, EARTHWORM JIM 3D and MESSIAH were both pushed back to the middle of 1999. STAR TREK: KLINGON ACADEMY, STAR TREK: NEW WORLDS, and STAR TREK: STARFLEET COMMAND all remain unaffected by the cutbacks, according to Interplay. Interplay's closure of Tribal Dreams SECRET OF VULCAN FURY. See GameSpot w the Papyrus Exports NASCAR Jobs to Russia . -.apyrus Design Group laid off 15 * J members of its art team recently I and outsourced their work to an art house in St. Petersburg, Russia. Papyrus is best known for Its high-end NASCAR, INDYCAR and GRAND PRIX I LEGENDS racing sims. Director of art I production Vlad Starzhevsky, who has I been at Papyrus for more than five ; years, said that about 20 artists in St. ; Petersburg produce substantial amounts of art for his company. "These guys completed 1 1 tracks for NASCAR 99, some of which are better than the I ones done by our U.S. artists," . Starzhevsky said. Only four artists remain under Starzhevsky in the U.S. office. Papyrus general manager Igor Razboff said that the Russian artists know little of U.S. auto racing. "But all that the artists need to do is re-create buildings and other structures from piaures," he said in an interview with GameSpot. Razboff formerly owned the art house (Animation Magic) in St. Petersburg where Papyrus is now out- sourcing its art. He has been working with Papyrus since March of 1998. The I Watertown, Mass.-based developer is I down to a trim 60 employees. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 /.compotefgaming.com Dragons Reign in Blue Fan^s Strategy/RPG Hybrid D RAKAN might be the latest game to put you in the dragon's seat, but it won't be the last. Blue Fang Games, the company headed by former Papyrus pros Adam Levesque and John Wheeler, is developing a strategy/role-playing game that lets you play one of five types of dragons, DRAGON HOARD will feature a 3D world that lets you fly around from a third- person perspective. You'll fight other dragons and fantasy creatures, collect gold to increase your hoard, gain prestige and knowledge, and influence other races to do your bidding — all to become the most powerful dragon in the land. In the game’s universe, dragons wield great influence over people, places and events, You decide how you want to play; You can use your power to subjugate the humans, ruling an area by fear and intimidation. Or you can choose to work in more positive ways to help the lesser races succeed, and as a result, worship the dragon for its wisdom and aid. You must become the most powerful dragon in the world, defeating all others, to win. The game will feature both single and multi-player modes. Former Papyrus Design Group members Adam Levesque and John Wheeler founded Blue Fang Games in July, 1 998. Levesque was the producer/designer and Wheeler was the technical lead on NASCAR RACING and NASCAR RACING 2, They are joined by another former Papyrus mem- ber, Lou Catanzaro, and a business development director from AT&T, Hank Howie. Boston-based Blue Fang is currently attempting to secure a publish- ing deal for the title, which is expected to ship in 2000. For more details, check out the company's Web site at www.bluefang.com. — Ken Brown Cavedog Marks New Online Territory 'Boneyards' Seems Modeled After Blizzard's Battle J^et C avedog Entertainment has announced the launch of a free online gaming service called Boneyards. The service, apparently modeled after Blizzard's successful Battle.Net, will let gamers chat and compete in Cavedog games such as TOTAL ANNIHILATION. After an initial beta test in November, the service should be live by the end of '98. Boneyards will offer a ladder and ranking system, company-sponsored tournaments and custom user profiles. The service will also report scores automatically to a host of Internet gaming services. In addition to TA, Boneyards will also let users play a new game called GALACTIC WARS, based on the TOTAL ANNIHILATION universe. In GALACTIC WARS, players join one of two warring forces fighting for control of SO- TO interconnected worlds across a galactic map. After selecting a planet, players fight TA-style battles with one or more human opponents from the enemy force. Daily tallies will measure each side's progress towards their goal of taking over their opponent's home world. Future Cavedog and GT games will also support the new service, the company reports. These include TOTAL ANNIHILATION; KINGDOMS (this month's cover story), AMEN: THE AWAKENING, ELYSIUM and GOOD & EVIL In addition, Cavedog indicates it has no plans to discontinue online, mul- tiplayer TA on other online services. Owners of TOTAL ANNIHILATION can download the Boneyards front-end for free from www.cavedog.com. — Ken Brown Playing Lately CCW Surve y Here's what you're blowin g the most time on. Last Month Months on Chart 1. StarCraft (Cendant Software) 1 S 2. Might and Magic VM3DD) 2 5 3. Quake II (id Software/Activlslon) 3 8 4. Unreal (GT Interactive) 6 4 5. Final Fantasy VII (Eidos/SquareSoft) 4 2 6. Diablo (Blluard/Condant) S 20 7. Age of Empires (EnscmblcIMIcrosoft) 4 8 8. Heroes II, Price of Loyalty (300/New World) 9. Mech Commander (MIcroProse) 10. Batticionc (Activision) Bsted OH a monthly survey nulled to CGW lubtolbort. ThU diffon fmm Iho roodm' onroll 'etwi/ly ranSInp* In Iho Top roo PC Data Bestsellers Last Month 1. Deer Hunter II 3-0 (GT Interactive) 2. Deer Hunter (GT Interactive) 2 3. Need For Speed 3 (Electronic Arts) 4. Barbie Nall Designer (Mattel) 5. Madden NFL 99 (Electronic Arts) 6. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Red Storm Ent.) 7. Cabela's Big Game Hunter (Activision) 6 8. StarCraft (Cendant Software) 1 9. Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter (GT Interactive) 5 10. Oiablo (Cendant Software) 3 rho top-solUo]; pc gamot ai of Oaober. talculatod by PC Osl v.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR THE HOTTEST GAMES IN DEVELOPMENT Redline On Foot or Behind the Wheel, Cruise Red Asphalt in a Bumper-to-Bumper Blaster by Bob Lindstrom B umper-smashing colli- sions, gear-grinding maneuvers, fiery acci- dents, and crazed drivers with murder in their eyes — nothing matches the sheer exhilaration of a Los Angeles freeway commute. For those of you who don't get that daily blast of life- threatening road rage, Accolade's upcoming car combat game, REDLINE, will give you a white- knuckled chance to get behind the wheel and to smash, careen, col- lide, and crush. And it won't raise your insurance rates. REDLINE travels that red ribbon of high-impact highway previously Redtine GENRE: Action RELEASE DATE: Q1 99 DEVELOPER: Beyond Games PUBUSHERtAaolade driven by such games as CAR WARS, TWISTED METAL, and CARMAGEDDON. What REDLINE adds to the action are breathtaking. 3D- accelerated, go-anywhere environ- ments. And. instead of being locked behind the wheel, REDLINE requires you to put shoe to pavement at strategic moments to wreak destruction on foot a la QUAKE II. If You Can't Shoot 'Em, Smash 'Em Gamers will face yet another apocalyptic future in REDLINE. Gangs of racing vandals, including the Red Sixers, Templars, and Lepers threaten society. Your objec- tive is to get into a "good" gang and run the bad guys into the mud through a series of missions, each with specific goals. Every car is equipped with weaponry (side and/or front firing depending on the vehicle) for tak- ing on enemy cars and on-foot snipers — not to mention unex- pected ordnance and traps. You tear around the huge levels sailing over obstacles and pulling boot- legger turns while evading or fac- ing off with nasties in their mur- der machines. If you don't happen to like the weapons in your jalopy, hop out, fire a special lightning weapon at another guy's street rod, shoot the owner when he staggers out, and then steal his car. Brutality and felony — how can you beat that? Judging from the four missions that 1 got to preview, REDLINE is going to be a graphic wonder. The epic scale of the environments makes this game the Titanic car combat. These are spaces so large they dwarf a mere four-car accident. The gameworld is rich with expansive stretches, eye- boggling heights, endlessly twist- ing city streets, and exotically sculpted interiors. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 /.computergamlng.c If You Can't Smash 'Em, Shoot 'Em Sure, you can cruise the countryside smearing enemies across the blacktop and doing impromptu body work with a grenade gun. But if you want to complete a mission in REDLINE, you'll have to park the car, lock and load, and hoof it. Besides, it's easier to line up a Templar with your gun barrel than with your license plate. When on foot, REDLINE becomes another first-person shooter. Still, the ability to wan- der the grandiose proportions of an indoor stadium or climb the towering walls of a military installa- tion makes this a shooter of epic scale. There aren't too many games in which you stop to enjoy the view, but I found myself doing just that while making my way to the tallest reaches of a Red Sixer encampment. Familiar design conven- tions popped up in the pre-alpha I played. Health, weapons, and ammo are tucked around the countryside; interior settings hold puzzles that involve finding special rooms, throwing switches, or destroying equipment. Nothing much new there. One nifty effect is a stunning "screen shake." When you trigger a massive explo- sion, the entire screen rattles wildly while you simultaneously lose your footing or bounce around behind the wheel of your car. It adds a whole new level of immersion and challenge to a shooter. If You Can't — Oh, Just Blast Everybody The robust single-player missions would make a satisfying enough experience, but REDLINE also features a multiplayer mode. Compatible with IPX, TCP/IP, and direct serial port connections, multiplayer REDLINE includes special deathmatch set- tings that minimize the strategy of soli- taire missions and permit groups of bad drivers to wreak maximum havoc as quickly as possible. Once you and your hell-driving colleagues have joined in cyberspace, you can form teams for coop- erative destruction against another team of human opponents. High Octane in the Tank All of this splattering joy comes at a price. Accolade currently recommends at least a Pentium 200 with 3D acceleration (although the game will run without a graphics accelerator). While the version i looked at wasn't opti- mized for speed, three of the four missions moved along effec- tively with a Pentium 150 and a Voodoo^ accelerator in low- detail mode — the only mode available in this preview program. Frankly, I found myself wondering if the low detail was an accurate description of the set- ting. it's hard to imag- ine how much better REDLINE could look. After reviewing half a dozen real-time strat- egy games and plod- ding through the most recent first-person shooter, it's easy for your typically blood- drenched and bored software reviewer to become blase. Although the pre-alpha I had was far from optimized and far from finished, REDLINE jump-started my enthusiasm for the possi- bilities in action sims. When it’s released, REDL/NE looks like one game I'il be playing for sheer enjoyment. Bob Lindstrom hates to admit it, but he's been playing computer games since the pre- Jurassic days of SPACE WARS and PONG. Despite his love of fast action, however, he has never intentionally crushed a pedestrian against a wall while driving around the streets of Los Angeles. BREAKING AND ENTERING Infiltrating huge fortified encampments will thrust you right into the midst of tiie enemy— if you're clever enough to get inside. CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN 'Hiis towering mountain is typical of REDLINE's enor- mous enwronments. But don't worry, you won't have to climb up there... you'll have to drive up there. Rub Your Bumper and Pat Your HihkI I f you think the headlong driving of Redune adds up to just anotiier arcade game, you'll be thinking out of the other side of your head once you get behind the wheel. The futuristic settings may be pure imagination, but the vehicles boast their own realism that drives REDLINE out of no-brainer land and into fantasy sim territory. Even though the physical models for each car were still being adjusted in our prewew version, these weapon-dad babies took a deft hand to successfully navigate through twisting streets and straight into armed enemies. The design team has wisely made compro- mises toward the cause of fun. In the preview, REDLINE's vehides could take considerably more damage than your used Yugo, for Instance. But there's none of the indestructible spin rolls and survivable lO-story drops as in tiie pure arcade radng of CARMAGEDDON, for example. REDLINE takes itself more seriously— without taking itself too seriously. The upshot is that there is a lot to do behind the wheel. First, you obviously have to steer that car and tweak its speed— a tricky business in tile frequently dose quarters of a REDLINE enwronment To make those tight maneuvers, one finger has to dive at the Space Bar to yank the parking brake and execute a spinning "bootlegger" turn. When you recover from the turn, you'll want to nail that sniper on your tall, so you stab the firing key vrith a second finger. Oops, you haven't got the best weapon, so a third finger flies out to the Change Weapon key. If you want to line up the shot with an aerial view, tiiatis another key: if you want to strafe, that's another key; and if you want to slow dowa that's another key. Finally, if you want to glance around your vehide or fire weaponry up and down, you'll need to have one hand on the mouse to smoothly alter your POV or direct your aiming reticule, whidi leaves you with only five fingers to speed tjqie your way to survival. In short whetiier playing with a mouse, key- board, or joystick, I quickly found myself run- ning out of fingers. Short of buying an odd- looking and probably very expensive pros- thesis, it will take some time to master just the driving phase of REDLINE. Hopefully, the inter- face will be stieamllned prior to release. «omputergaming.( COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 WORLD Go to #201 @ www.computerganiing.com/infolink iigaSoli Nein(xKs. Inc All (ignts lesenM Vigilance. HEAT, the HEAT logs. SegaSoli. end die ' tradcmortis ol SogaSofi NetwoiKs, Inc Ml oUier logos se t»e properly o( ttier respecliee o ■rmlni THE REHL UnnERLUORLD LUelcomE to the Here and natu. LUhere the enemy is scum. But human scum. Rs fast, sly and lethal as you. LUhere stealth Is as Important as firepoLuer. LUhere you can actually lank the enemy In the eye. Rnd Luatch him look hack. Forget Hell. This Is the real underujorld. ■ Real-Luorld counter-terrorist missions ■ B Unique player characters In single player mode ■ an unique player characters in multi-player deathmatch mode ■ Duer MD ujeapons and PoLuer-ups ■ Ground-breaking photo-realistic graphics ujith the all neuj RnyChannel aD engine For a free demo, visit www.vigilance.com Hired Guns Get a Whole New Perspective on Squad-based Combat — First Person by Robert Coffey I hat can a first- f person shooter do ' to distinguish itself these days? On the visual front, virtually every title has jaw-dropping 3D graphics. Deathmatches, capture- the-flag, and fortress-type varia- tions are part and parcel of the multiplayer options in most shooters. Shotguns, rocket launch- ers, and some big-ass guns — what game doesn’t have those? After a certain point, it all starts to look and play the same. But HIRED GUNS, slated for a spring 1 999 release, might just provide the breath of fresh air that the shooter genre is looking for, Team Player While HIRED GUNS' futuristic, evil corporation back-story isn’t going to win any awards for origi- nality, the game breaks from the shooter ranks with its focus on squad-level combat. Gamers will directly control the actions of a four-man squad of mercenaries out to topple a trio of — here it comes- -evil corporations. Gamers an olav ns inv af '■h'j 'vhilc giving jrdem c •.rr r".i. HIRED GUNS' unique appiuditi is immediately apparent in the main game screen. A full third of the monitor is filled with the active character’s perspective. Along the bottom of the screen are three smaller windows, each reflecting the current view of the other team members. In the upper-right portion of the screen, at a garishly lit city, the other team members have infiHratecI their objectives and await further orders. GENRE: Action RELEASE DATE: Q2 '99 DEVELOPER: Oewl's Thumb Entertainment PUBLISHER: Psygnosis you'll find a game interface that allows you to control your team. If you prefer to have a full-screen view of the active character, it's just a toggle key away. Available orders include: Patrol, Hide, Snipe, and Cover. Your forces can also be instructed to go into "Fury" mode, during which they will just run randomly around a level, firing at any enemy they come across. Further determining the behavior of your "squaddies" is an Al adjuster that will color their threat responses based on three nrioritie<;' health orders, and ^hiprrjxo'; ;se; u -'jotcti h''ir hoaiti^ nnr! ihey'li lerteai after lakii'ig a certain degree of damage. Mercenaries with a high order priority will walk into certain death if you order them to do so. Those meres that have been given a high objective priority will focus their actions on fulfilling mission goals. The game interface will also allow you set group formations for your squad of meres, includ- ing Diamond, Tight, and Line configurations. Additionally, a rally button will instruct your private army to make every effort to reach the active char- acter's location. All Together Now Coordinating your team’s actions and fully using its unique abilities will be a key to success in HIRED GUNS. As an example of team play, you may face a situa- tion in which an enemy sniper is preventing you from entering a building. You'll have to instruct one member to attack the sniper with suppression fire so that other members may enter the building. But which member do you use in these situations? If you need to access a computer inside the building, you'll want to make sure 'h‘ :vhnrg gets in so it can inter friCi- jvith the computer system. If you expect incapacitating dark- ness, you'll want the mercenary with infrared vision inside the building instead of occupying the sniper. This emphasis on using the full team should be the rule rather than the exception since the design team is promising to build what they call "tactically engag- ing levels," Powering all this is the ubiqui- tous UNREAL engine, so you can expect smooth gameplay with glittering graphics — provided you've got the hardware. The early build I saw was striking, with the action in each window sporting MOON SHOT With the UNREAL engine driving the game, you can expect lots of stunning graphics like these. richly saturated color and sinooth- as-milk frame-rates. But don't expect the gameworld to look that good for long — Devil's Thumb is making a concerted effort to fill the environments with highly destructible objects. Destroying those objects should be a snap, given that you'll have a projected 1 7 weapons at your dis- posal. Of the weapons I saw, the most impressive was the sniper rifle. This rifle features an incre- mental zoom for targeting ene- mies at different distances and will take out most bad guys with a single, skull-shattering shot. Due to be on store shelves by mid-year, HIRED GUNS could bring a level of strategy and coordina- tion heretofore lacking in first- person shooters. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 /.computerganiing.c i/^d( you io ^zcAkh^csiuV« i( ((SvA.«S www.dalkatana.com l»93 Eioot ION STORM and DAIKATANA iHuncs and logm aie uadamaika o( Ion Slwin. L.R ION STORM logo and DAIKATANA logo Copyrrglit« 1997. laonvo. Inc.Tho 30li Inlerncoye logo i» a rogifteieO IradamarK ol 3DI« lnlaiHl Soltwr. UC b IMii^ U't SlKkn Splci>St»:t.UDiH.«>dIMnniMntjdesark(f»lilnl(wlm.iK. WWW.eidOS Interact I Ve.COm Go to #273 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink !f you’re gonna get the most acciiaiiiied epic rpg ever created for the PC, you’d better Because Final Fantasy VII is still in high d6!tTI3lld. And there’s no better season to play good guy and save the world. ©1997, .1998 Square Co., Lid, Final Fanla^nd^uaroSoftafe reglstg^l^a'clemarks of Square Co., Ltd, All Rights Reserved. EIDOS and ElOOS Interaclive are trademarks of El^S, Pic. © 1998 EIDOS laflS/irizb o ’^•fsa Stunning — Next Generation ever found in an RPG Computer Gaming World Beautiful graphics, hlSg6 Now for the PC. ' i ^ J ■ ;.!7 ■ ft ^ “a unique and fascinating experience yon can't get from any other game” — Computer Games Strategy Plus unique gameplay” 90% raiing — PC Gamer ^eioos www.eidosinteractive.com Get the demo! Go to #277 @ www.coitiputergaming.com/infolink new-life blood into the real-time strategy genre with a game that will have players on the edge of their seats." -Imagine Games Network "Commandos is a great game!" -Gamecenter - v' I "Slick, Different, and Innovative" -Computer Gaming World A genuinely original game of tactics, planning, and precision." -Gamespot Comraiuidos.’ Behind Enemy Lines and Eidos Interactive are trademarks ol Eidos Pic. ©1998 Eldos. All tights reserved. www.eidosinteractive.com Go to #276 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Civ II Multiplayer Gold 101 Civ IkTest ofTime 101 Civ II Multiplayer Gold 101 Civ IkTest ofTime 101 Early Intelligence on the New Wave of Strategy Games Machines 158 Metal Fatigue 144 Point of Attack 2 151 Populous 3 Ill Roller Coaster Tycoon 161 Seven Kingdoms II 134 ! Shadow Company. ^.....115 Shogun: TotalWar. _ 123 Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri 1 01 W hat will it take to relieve the strategy genre from the grip of mediocrity? Let's face it, strategy games have been plagued by a host of me-too titles, brain-dead Al, useless features for the sake of having features, and a degree of pretension on the order of calling yourself The Artist Formerly Known as Ginger Spice. Thankfully, it seems as though the coming year will feature games less concerned with following trends than with setting Star . Star Trelc New VVorldSuj«»™»^^ ...... Total Annihilation; Kingdoms 74 •„ : War of the Worlds 1 40 Warhammer: Rites of War 1 40 : Warzone 2100 155 them. Sure, every game and its sequel is hopping aboard the 3D bandwagon, but the good titles strive to get something out of 3D other than a nifty buzzword to paste on the box, HOMEWORLD promises to^^edefine 3D strategy gaming by throwing in the Z axis along with gMd ol' X and Y, and SHADOW COMPANY makes use 1 ; of hardware a^eleration to create realistic environments that enhance its gritty, squad-based combat. Whiie real-time games still domi- nate the genre, this looks to be the TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KI^O^ THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Total Annihilation: Kingdoms Cavedog's Fantasy Free-for-AI! Offers Tag-Team Excitement Genre: Real-time Strategy Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Cavedog Entertainment Publisher: GT Interactive www.gtinteractive.com by Johnny L. Wilson A s a preadolescent, I had a fascination for "professional wrestling." I may use the term advisedly, but the performers were paid and some wrestling occasionally took place. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the one-on-one matches, but I could get really excited over the tag-team matches. Tag-team matches, for those of you who had more refined tastes than the young Johnny Wilson, were those in which a wrestler in trouble could touch the hand of his partner outside the ring and change places with him. This would, of course, shift the balance of the match by bringing fresh blood into the ring to take the place of the beleaguered grappler. The atmosphere was further charged by the fact that one of the two-man teams was always the "good guys," the play-by-the-rules guys; the other team was the "bad guys." the cheat-if-you-can guys. It was melodrama. It was adrenaline-pumping excitement to an impressionable 10-year old. It worked. TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KINGDOMS is a fantasy tag-team match on a global scale. It’s melodrama. It's excitement. It works. Like some classic tag-team grudge match, TA: KINGDOMS features two good kingdoms (Aramon and Veruna, representing the powers of Earth and Water respectively) against two evil kingdoms the good kingdoms escalate warfare with gunpowder while the evil kingdoms up the ante with sorcery. In multiplayer terms, it's easy to imagine double crosses and stabs in the back. The global wrestling ring comes to life in a four- player struggle for domination. In single-player terms, the game features one continuous story from beginning to end, but you'll have to change sides (as the gamer, not as a character within the story) from time to time in order to experience the entire story. Designer Clayton Kauziaric likes to think of the story as a novelized perspective. When you shift sides your view- point changes, complete with differences in inter- face art and music, as well as different units, spells, and powers at your disposal. Since the mage-kings (the com- mander units) of the four kingdoms are the off- spring of the same immortal mage-emperor, the storyline in TA: KINGDOMS adds the (Taros and Zhon, represent- ing Fire and Air). The wrestling ring comprises an entire world called Darien, where ambient magic called "mana" powers everything. The kingdom of Aramon resembles a magical version of the Roman Empire — benevolent imperialists — while Veruna is more cos- mopolitan (think Venice during Marco Polo's era). Taros seems a near-demonic depiction of totalitarianism (complete with landscapes from hell), while Zhon has all the chaos of a sorcerous Third World nation set on a primitive continent. All four civilizations use magic, but COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1999 if.computergaming.com spice of sibling rivalry to the standard good guys versus bad guys conflict. In This Corner... The combatants in TA: Kingdoms differ greatly from the contenders in TOTAL ANNIHILATION. Whereas the original incarnations ofTA allowed for the rapid addi- tion of new units, constantly expanding the size of army orders of battle, TA; KING- DOMS will ship with about 160 different units and the downloadable units will not be released as often. TA: KINGDOMS displays charac- ters and vehicles in a larger format than did its predeces- sor, a nod to gamers who complained that it was difficult to discern physical differences between many of the units inTA. The games differ also in how they treat those units. TA treated units like expend- able minions; TA: KINGDOMS will use a new experience point system to actually reward gamers who conserve their units. For example, your swordsmen THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES begin fairly weak, but if you manage to keep them alive long enough, they can reach parity with high-level units. Units can improve in movement rate, armor class, weapon strength, mana ability, and building speed, among other factors. TA: KINGDOMS will also feature a limited number of some units (certain heroes and dragons) that, once lost, cannot be rebuilt. These characters or unique units will be introduced via narrative twists and should have the potential to shift the balance of play. Another intriguing balance shifter in TA: KINGDOMS is the appearance of deities. Any time a player builds a temple dedicated to a particular deity, there is a ran- dom chance that the god will take form as an avatar and participate in battles. Of course, such an incarnation may well presage a counterbalancing appearance by a rival deity. The game differentiates the four kingdoms not only in terms of units but also in terms of build cycles. In addition, the king- dom of Zhon has units with the capacity to self-replicate. They won't be able to engage in battle as they clone themselves, but the self-spawning capacity provides an awesome power, nonetheless. Other units will have built-in immunities to certain forms of attack (particularly the undead creatures who can be harmed only by magical attacks). Unlike the amazing disappearing dead ofTA, corpses in TA: KINGDOMS will remain persistent for a time during the battle (the exact duration of this persistence has not yet been determined). As long as the corpses remain, high-level priests from Aramon and Veruna can resurrect the units. High-level sorcerers from Taros or Zhon, however, can reanimate the units into zombies or skeletons. The naval units for TA; KINGDOMS are particularly impressive. War galleys, men-of-war, and fire ships abound, complete with animated oars, flowing pennants, turning rudders, and billowing sails. Partisans of ancient naval warfare will be disappointed that the game doesn't allow ramming or shearing (when a lighter, faster ship runs alongside the hull of a heavier, slower ship, breaking off its oars to reduce its speed and maneuverability prior to ramming it). The naval warfare Is closer to that of the Byzantine Era, when projectile weapons and Greek Rre were becoming the order of the day, and rams had a tendency to break after one use. More important, all ships in the game have a variable trans- port capacity, adding to logistic flexibility and the art of maneuver. One other unit that enhances the play in TA: KINGDOMS is the Mage Healer. The Mage will have a healing radius and will automati- cally begin to restore hit points to damaged units within that radius. Of course, the opposition will have its corresponding tag-team part- ner: certain advanced undead units that will be able to sap strength from any unit entering their vampiric radius. ^.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 (3ruw slniiKjcr hy 1)uililiti(j do/cns of :i5i' Fiicililk-^ or workinij onLisi'5 lor your loetion... oiid you. Use k'lnilnmiers lo roise iind lower the hind, nlterinq weolher p.iMerns ;ini the course of rivers. Moke the piniiel more suitahle for you or luirsher for your O|j|)otienls. ^200 AD. Whul's It’ll ol’ irivilizalion lias lauded oti a niyslorious alien [itanel. And il’s up to you to chart the Talc oF humafiily. Which oF seven r)uverniii(j Faclions will you choose to lead? r.ach has its own strengths and weaknesses — and its own agenda. Il’s legendary Sid Meier strategy ganie|)lay taken to a whole new level, .lust don’t lorgct lo watch your hack. Gel the Full story find demo at www.alfihacenlauri.corn Explore. Discover. Build. Conquer. For The Future OF Mankind. THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Tipping the Scales At... In TA, you had to extract metal and collect energy. In TA: KINGDOMS, you have an abstract economy based upon mana (the ambient magical energy, which represents the limited resource in the game) and the attendant drains on that energy pool in terms of units of time and units of labor. Every unit in the game either builds or consumes mana. You don't have to mine or process this energy, just use it. The sacred sites rank as one of the game's most valuable assets. Gamers will have to find the sites within the gameworld, but finding them makes a significant amount of mana become available to your kingdom. You can use mana to sum- mon creatures or heroes, construct additional buildings, or prepare mas- sive armies for an all-out offensive. According to the design team, the shift in approach to resources was based on the feeling that the econo- my in TA didn't work. "When you're just getting started," says Kauzlaric, "theTA economy makes sense and seems to work, but 20 minutes into the game, resources cease to mat- ter." The mana-based zero-sum economy means that there will always be trade-offs in the game, but you won't have to micromanage mining and ecology operations in order to keep funding your troops. Within a given radius of influ- ence, each unit capable of con- struction can build certain units. Gamers won't be overwhelmed by irrelevant build menus on which half of the units are "grayed out" as inapplicable to the current situ- ation. The build menu (buttons on the left-hand side of the screen) displays only those units or build- ings eligible for construction within a given situation. Once you choose a unit or a building and its location, you see a ghost image of what's being built in that spot. You can also stop construction (or summon- ing) at any point in time. The construction capability in TA; KINGDOMS is particularly important in one regard. In TA, gamers were susceptible to early rush attacks. TA: KINGDOMS allows you to quickly build fortifications to thwart early aggressors. Stone walls will hold off an assault of archers or swords- men, forcing your opponent to build up ballistae, cannon, catapults, siege engines, and/or trebuchets prior to making an assault. One caution, though: It’s possible to build fortifications such that you virtually pen yourself in. A major difference in Al will quickly become evident when gamers first boot up TA: KINGDOMS. While TA used a mathematically correct line-of-sight that factored in terrain effects, TA: KINGDOMS has expanded that to make the line-of-sight changes in terrain and eleva- tion more perceptible and satisfying. Ironically, the actual calculations are less realistic, but the resultant pathfinding, peeling back of fog-of-war, and missile range seem more realistic as you play. When you fire catapults off a cliff or order archers to shoot down a slope, you now sense more readily that you’re getting increased line-of-sight and range. You didn't always feel that in TA. Sometimes, perception is reality. Another difference is that the state-based Al will respond according to the unit's need. If the unit is being defeated, the Al is smart enough to retreat. If the unit is supposed to attack, it will keep exploring until it finds something to attack. If the unit is supposed to patrol, it will patrol (via gamer- designated way- points) until it finds something to attack. Instead of being scripted only to respond, the Al-controlled units will react according to where they are in the game. In one playing of the game, we watched a jungle ore from the Zhon army traverse the entire map and kill every enemy he encountered without any instructions from us. The program took it and ran. Wearing the White Trunks... Some gamers will never be happy with the prebuilt scenarios in a game. Fortunately, TA: KINGDOMS provides a map and mission editor that will enable you to build your own maps for both single-player and multiplayer action. The best news is that the mission editor uses a scripting language that allows for random events, timed events, and custom victory conditions for both single- player and multiplayer encounters. For example, you could script an epiphany from a hostile or friendly deity or even a full-scale invasion by an Al kingdom for a certain point in a multiplayer battle. More important, TA: KINGDOMS will be fully functional with Boneyards, Cavedog Entertainment's new online gaming service. Boneyards will provide not only matching services for TA: KINGDOMS foes, but also a persistent envi- ronment (something like a competition ladder, but with more fiction) in which those battles will make sense in the larger scheme of things. As of press time, Boneyards was being tested with such a system for TA, called GAtACTIC WARS. For me, as that 10-year-old wrestling fan years ago, the best part of any tag-team match occurred when all four combatants jumped into the ring and chaos reigned. The hapless referee would try in vain to break up the melee, and you knew that the bad guys would get in some cheap shots while he wasn't looking. TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KINGDOMS looks as though it will offer lots of entertaining, impressive chaos and plenty of opportunities for those of you who enjoy playing the bad guys (you know who you are) to get in some cheap shots. In short, "Let’s get ready to rumble!" Q3IZ7 COME TO THE CANNONADE Whether in the midst of sieges or open-field war- fare, you'll appreciate the firepower offered by the ballistae, cannon, and trebuchets in the game. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 5putergaming.com Mi&ittsofL Say hello to Microsw Sidewinder' Precision Pro and Game Pad. Your one-way ticket to better play. Unbeatably accurate and reliable, you'll command the game In a way you’ve only dreamed about. Of course, buttons can be fully customized. And with their ergonomic design, you'll find the buttons exactly where you want them. At your fingertips and under your thumb. The perfect place to kick some serious butt. Game Pad PrecfsionPro 0 1 098 Mcrceofl CorpDQlioa Al li^ reserved MicrcsoA and SidsWindar ara ettner registered ttademarte or trademams ol MicrosoR Corporation in the United Slates arid olher countries. 0 1998 Electronic Arls. John Madden Football and EA SPt^TTS are trademarke or regislerad Iredemarks ol Eledronic Arls in the US. ancKx ether covntrtes. Al rl(^ reserved ORicialv Licensed Product ol the National FOolbal League Players. O 1996 Players Inc.'Tbe PLAYERS INC logo Isa registered traderForlc o< the NFL Piayeis. NF^ Malsiiats 0 1 996 NFLP. Want more? Visit microsoftcom/SideWinder 3CDS PACKED WITH HIGH QUALITY SOUND AND VIDEO * FULL 360“ OF MOVEMENT IN 6 UNIQUE WORLDS WINDOWS 95/98, MAC OS COMPATIBLE LIVE ACTION VIDEO INTENSIFIES AND REALISM Copyiiglit © 1998 Piianha Interacllve Publishing. H AWAKE? Decipher the riddle of the neurographicon.a pod-like time machine that preserves dreams forever. Upon exploring each pod, you experience its prisoners' tragic lives through their dreams, ghosts and vislons.The experience will have you quickly confusing the surreal with the real and sacrificing your own dream time for Morpheus time. “Morpheus is a gorgeous looking game. Players will have more freedom to explore than that offered by slideshow-style games such as Riven." -Digital Entertainment Online "A solid adventure game experience wherein die sum of die ports add up to an engrossing, challenging whole." -JustAdyenture.com ‘'Charts new territory in the deep, moody, engrossing nature of the story and the breatinaking beauty of die graphics.” -Adrenaline Vault demos latest info free stuff WWW.MQRPHEUSGAME.CQM Go to #137 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Close Combat III Third Time's a Charm by Terry Coleman Genre: Real-time WWII Release Date: Q1 '99 Developer: Atomic Games Publisher: Microsoft www.microsoft.com/ H istorians constantly argue over which battle of the Revolutionary War was the most significant, or whether Lee could have won at Gettysburg on the second day if he'd pressed harder, or whatnot. When it comes to the eastern front of World War II, however, most of the arguments focus on minutiae because the big themes of the conflict are pretty much free of debate. When the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa, they set in motion the sin- gle largest land conflict in history. Over the course of four years, tens of millions were captured, wounded, or killed. The very names of the battles still resonate, even more than a half-century later: the des- perate defense of Moscow; the bitter, protracted siege of Leningrad; the turning point at Stalingrad; the largest tank battle in history at Prokorovka; the liberation of Warsaw; and the sacking of Berlin. Most of the great boardgames and computer wargames of the past three decades cover this monumental conflict from either an overall strategic or a middle-ground operational viewpoint. CLOSE COMBAT III, true to its name, gets its hands dirty at the grunt level. Even more than A BRIDGE TOO FAR, CLOSE COMBAT III succeeds at por- traying the chaos of the battlefield. But it never gets unmanageable and is always engrossing. Part of this is due to the situation: Almost every kind of WWII battle you can imagine was fought on the eastern front. Still, it's a tribute to the design that a system started as pri- marily an infantry-oriented simulation now easily handles the vast number of tanks, half-tracks, artillery units, and other military hard- ware that took center stage for much of 1941-45. The Al doesn't simply maneuver these war machines competently, it also uses them adeptly to exploit Its terrain advantages, especially in building-to-building fighting — at least in the scenarios that have been finished at this point. If you thought that enemy firepower was deadly in A BRIDGE TOO FAR, you'll be running for cover here almost from the time you boot the program. The Germans have tanks galore and a well-developed command structure to go with a core of veteran troops. The Soviets counter with heavier tanks, lots of antitank guns, and the dreaded human wave tactic. The first time Last Dance at the Volga At medium view, you get a better idea of how desperate the Soviet situation is. Note the gray German tank to the left of the screen, closing to support tiie 88mm antitank guns. In extreme dose-up, you get an idea of how aggressive the German Al is; though I might have waKed for more units, the Germans have racked up quite a body count Keep in mind that staying in this view too long invites disaster since you miss the big picture. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1999 WWW, computcrgamlng.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES you sacrifice dozens of Soviet soldiers to take an objective, you'll reel from the slaughter. Eventually, though, you realize that this was the mindset that Soviet commanders — and soldiers — actually had during the war. My hat is off to the designers for not shy- ing away from this unpleasant truth. All the Amenities CLOSE COMBAT III comprises more than 20 battles and a dozen campaigns, covering everything from small engagements to the entire war in the east. Despite the game's incredible scope, there Buildings In CLOSE COMBAT III vary greatly in size, shape, and materials, which makes a huge difference to troops trying to use them for cover. ^ Close combat hi handles gullies and other depressions better than its predeces- sors — and certainly much better than the typ- ical RTS game. Pacing is tough to execute in any game, but here the units' movement rate over dirt roads, paved roads, and even rail lines seems to be just right. [4|This German half-track has gotten too far ahead of its support for its own good. it's about to be roasted by... S' . . .this T-34 flamethrower tank. While flamethrowers are a bit expensive for you to requisition, the design team seems to be obsessed with them. 6 A medium German tank in camouflage. Given its present location, this vehicle might have been better left in the woods offscreen. ' 7 i While its fixed gun can be a problem at times, this German tank destroyer is perfectly poised to nail the Soviet tank ahead. ' 8 - A Sherman tank, given to the Soviets via lend-lease from the U.S., has the sense to wait for a good shot: The tank’s commander knows he'll probably get only one. 9 These infantry are armed mostly with rifles and submachine guns. If a German tank ventures too near, how- ever, those soldiers who pass a morale check can assault the armor up close. 1 0 Since both sides fielded powerful antitank guns, those units almost always get targeted early in CLOSE COMBAT HI. 11 By leaving the strategic window active you can see the overall battle at a glance without having to zoom in and out frequently. /.computergaminjj.t COMPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 Meet the Microsoft'^' Sidewinder’” Force Feedback Wheel and the processor. And with Game Controiler Software you can program Force Feedback Pro joystick. Feel the force of every game action buttons to the actions in the games. Did we mention you can use in the palm of your hand, thanks to a colossal 16 bit, 25 MHz them with over eighty games? BucWe up. You’re in for a bumpy ride. Microsoft Urban Assault " comes free with the Force Feedback Pro. Microsoft Monster Truck Madness'“2 and Microsoft CART Precision Racing'“come free ©1998 All rights reserved. Microsoft, Monster Truck Mndnoss, Precision Racing, Sidewinder and Urban Assault are either registered IrademarKsorlradomarks o( Microsoft Corporation l ' United I andfor other countnea. /« uanp^l^ ' W'rS iNToxicf^^^f^/^i.eTety rne amp comki Force Feedback Wheel Force Feedback Pro Joystick with the Wheel. Want more? visit microsoft.com/SideWindei THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Atomic for Power, Turbines for Speed (With apologies to Adam West) S ome wargame designers — Norm Koger, for one — create games from ail periods of history. Keith Zabalaoui and his crew at Atomic Games have stuck to simulating the battles of WWII, but they have a lot more range than they get credit for. Besides, I know Zabalaoui is still dying to do a Starship Troopers game. .. The V FOR VICTORY series was ahead of its time in many ways, combin- ing the familiarity of boardgame conventions with better functionaiity and a generaily easier learning curve. Sure, the games were turn- based, but for operational-ievel games, it's yet to be ^ proven tiiat real-time action is better. These were some of the first SVGA games, not just for strategy/war ^ games, but for any genre. The best of these was UTAH BEACH (reieased by 360 Pacific in 1993), a marvelous, tense look at D-Day that holds up a half-dozen years later. It's still available on CD in THE COMPLETE WARGAME COLLEaiON from SSI. Later games in the series added technicai innovations, but as games they were handi- capped by their settings. After the demise of 360 Pacific, Atomic entered into a relationship with Avaion Hiii. The two companies had somewhat different ways of approaching game design, but the tensions worked positively in OPERATION CRUSADER, easily the best PC game set entirely in Nortii Africa. At this point Atomic's Ai did a much better job attacking than defending. Since the best "mobile defense" in Crusader was to counterattack, the computer opponent acquitted itself pretty well— making this worth buying if you can find it Maybe Hasbro wiii consider reprinting this as part of an "AH computer ciassics" coiiection. The aeative tension between Avaion Hiii and Atomic became outright dissonance in STALINGRAD, not at aii based on the old AH boardgame. The operational-level scenarios worked fine, but the iate addition of a 400- meter-per-hex scale for some parts of the fighting within the city simply didn't work. As a contest between two human generals, however, this is still a good game. CLOSE COMBAT, Atomic's first game for Microsoft inspires respect more than pieasure. it often feeis as though the game were running under its own steam— the last thing you want in this kind of game since hardT" \m riCiiT moDgel^ P^Play any of 19 smoothly animated, live video characters. Controlled in real time) each - cha ra cter is modele d from a highly talented martial artist with a unique fighting style, making for some of the most realistic combat ever. . ^ . Available at your local retailer or call Power Media at 503 - 684.8232 www.powermedia.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Homeworld This Sci-Fi Strategy Game Pushes the Boundaries of 3D Space by Robert Coffey D id you ever want to jump out of your Excalibur star fighter in a WING COMMANDER game and start calling the shots instead of just taking them? Did you ever wonder just who was drawing up the mission plans in TIE FIGHTER? Did you ever think to your- self, "I can come up with a better strategy than this" in DESCENT; FREESPACE? Well, you Commander Adama wanna-be, HOMEWORLD may be the answer to your prayers — serving up heaps of epic space combat in which you create and command huge fleets of space vessels instead of just pilot them. As leader of an entire civilization fleeing from adversaries who have driven you from your adopted home, you'll traverse space in a desperate race to find the legendary planet of your origin: your homeworld. Battlestar Fantastica The first thing you'll notice about HOMEWORLD are the graphics. Visually, the game should be stunning. Using virtu- ally every 3D trick in the book, the design team has created a vibrant, living world In the cold expanses of deep space. The universe brims with richly detailed space ships, fields of bobbing asteroids, and beautiful, shifting nebulae. SHOOTING STARS HOMEWORLD's free-moving camera allows for some breathtaking perspectives of battie. Here, a wing of scout ships moves in to finish off tiie enemy. Adding to the game's graphic appeal is its zoom feature. Pull out for a wide view and you'll be able to take in every ship in the sector — zipping fighters trailing ion streams, gently spin- ning research stations, enemy bombers peppering the hull of your massive mothership with exploding plasma bombs. Zoom in tight and you can ride right behind a wing of attacking fighters, all the better to ogle the glowing engines and brilliant explosions, Beautiful and dramatic, the action in HOMEWORLD could run the risk of work- ing against its playability since gamers may neglect their strategic duties to marvel at the splendor of the gameworld. But odds are that won't happen since HOMEWORLD seems poised to give gamers some of the most innovative strategy gam- ing in a long time. Just the addition of a truly three-dimensional world promises to open up all sorts of new strategic challenges. You'll be able to flank enemies from above and below as well as from the sides, but surrounding a key enemy target should prove more daunting given that those targets will have more avenues for escape than in a traditional game. Viewing your position from various angles will be vital to your success, so HOMEWORLD Utilizes a camera with a full 360 degrees of freedom. This lets you whip from a view high above your moth- ership to just below it in a heartbeat. Should you need to check on scout ships far from your primary position, you'll be able to call up the strategic map of that sector and click on those units to be instantly transported to their position. Getting There From Here Directing the actions of units in a true 30 environment presents a slew of challenges not present in other games. Given that your monitor is a two-dimensional device, you can't select a unit and actually click on a point in space; How does the unit know where on that plane you want It to go? Should it move straight ahead or five miles deeper? To its credit, the design team at Relic is doing a good job developing an interface that doesn't get in the way of enjoyment yet allows gamers to control their forces with precision. As in most real-time strategy titles, units in HOMEWORLD can be gathered into groups by simply clicking and dragging a box around them. Groups can be of an unlimited number and can be assigned to hot-keys. For the tricky business of moving units, you'll simply press the M key, which calls up a graphic overlay of a large dish representing the horizontal plane the selected units currently occupy. Clicking anywhere on that dish sends those units to that point. To send them to a place either above or below that point on the plane, you'll have to press another key. This will allow you to move your cursor off the original plane and triangu- late a destination for your units. In print it sounds clumsy, but in practice it's quick and effective. in fact, a great deal of the interface relies on using the key- board. Gamers who have never used hot-keys for actions in games such as STARCRAFT will probably have some adjusting to do. Keys are used not only to direct movement, but also to call up the COMPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 /.computergaming.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Form and Function Formations promise to be as integral to gameplay in HOMEWORLD as they are in MYTH. You should be able to send squadrons of Interceptors in wedge formation to penetrate and scatter an enemy's forces before you follow up with a solid line of heavy Corvettes to pound the enemy into oblivion. Formations operate intelligently as well. If you tell a group of Defenders to go into a sphere formation with your mothership, the Defenders will arrange themselves around the mothership rather than trying to force the enormous mothership into being part of the sphere. Deep space noticeably lacks terrain, so you won't be able to count on mountain ranges and the like to provide defense for your forces. Instead, defense will hinge largely on your deployment of units. You'll need to place your more valuable and vulnerable scanners, research stations, and mothership in the center of a growing fleet. Lighter, quicker craft — like Interceptors and Bombers — will need to patrol the edges of your "base" to extinguish or severely wound attacking forces. Defenders will be particularly handy. While they're almost useless as a mobile, attacking force, they are formidable when they stick to guarding your assets. And there will be some environmental phe- nomena you can exploit for defense: You can charge gas clouds, for example, to create Impassable electrical fields — or to give a devastating shock to enemy harvesting vessels. Research in the game will be accomplished via modular research stations. Unlike in other games in which specific buildings research specific technologies, the THE BIG PICTURE, PART II Whether rendering shifting neb- ulae or brilliant explosions, HOMEWORLD's 3D-accelerated graphics give the game a unique epic feel. DRAWING A LINE IN SPACE The strategic use of formations will play a big part in deciding tiie outcome of battles in HOMEWORLD. Here, a squad of Interceptors lines up by its moUiership before making a sweep of the sector. research station will be responsible for all scientific advancement. Research may be slow at first, but you can increase your speed by building additional station modules. As the research structure grows, so will your research speed. Alternately, you may research more than one technology by assigning different research tasks to separate station modules. New technologies will enable you to create new ships, develop better weapons, and access even more technologies. Poised for an early 1 999 release, HOMEWORLD has the potential to be a breakthrough title among real-time strategy games. By fully utilizing 3D technology it will add a whole new dimension to the genre. strategic map, to set unit posture for guarding and the tike, and to select formations. SCIENTIFIC MEinOD Multiple research modules will let you Investigate several technologies at once or accelerate inquiry into just one. /.computefgaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Microsott ©1998 Microsoft Corporation, Ad rieits reserved. Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Introducing Microsoft' Combat Flight Simulator. With the same stunningly realistic flying experience Flight Simulator is known for, only this time it’s the I940's and there's a war on. Join the Allied or Axis forces, choose your fighter, and fly missions in the Battle of Britain and the Battle over Europe. But don't expect a sight-seeing trip. Sure, the Eiffel Tower, Royal Albert Hall and other historically accurate landmarks are there in heart-stopping 3-D graphics. Unfortunately, with black smoke pouring through the shattered cockpit of your P-47D you won't see much. And if that isn't thrilling enough, bring in thousands of planes from the Internet and engage in deadly dogfights over scenery imported from Microsoft Flight Simulator. That's not all. Combat Flight Simulator also supports multiplayer and force feedback technology. So when you pull G's attacking the enemy, and the engine of your Spitfire cuts out, you'll know just how it feels. After all, nothing beats the feeling of flying a historic WWII fighter. Except, of course, filling it full of lead and watching it plummet pitifully to the ground. Collect your orders and find out how Microsoft Flight Simulator owners can get a S10 rebate at www.microsoft.com/games/combatfs THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Fleet Command Jane's Tests the Real-time Waters With This Naval Warfare Game by Denny Atkin N obody knows weaponry like Jane’s Information Group, the book and magazine publisher that has documented weapons of mass destruction for most of this century. Jane's Combat Simulations— a cooperative venture between Electronic Arts and the original Jane's— has built a similar reputation for accurately portraying weapons systems with titles like LONGBOW, F-1 5. and 688(1) HUNTER/KILLER. Now that Jane's Combat Simulations has risen to prominence in the simulations market, it is turning its sights to strategy gaming with FLEET COMMAND, a real-time naval Genre: Real-time Strategy Release Date: Q1 '99 Developer: Sonalysts Publisher: Jane's Combat Simulations warfare strategy game. FLEET COMMAND is an interesting hybrid; Although the game features a command interface that's no harder to use than your typical COMMAND & CONQUER clone, the battles aren't simplified and abstracted as they are in most real-time strategy games. You'll watch your attacks play out in a 3D window that seems ripped from a flight simulation. You'll see the influence of the group's simulation experience in how the bat- tles play out as well— all the weapons systems for each vehicle are individually simulated. www.janes.ea.com Not Sub-standard This simulation influence isn't surprising when you realize that FLEET COMMAND'S developer is Sonalysts, which has been creating tactical and weapons-platform simulations for the Navy for a number of years. Jane's 688{l) HUNTER/KILLER, a nuclear attack submarine slm, marked Sonalysts' entry into the consumer simulation market. The developer had planned to follow that product with a detailed Aegis missile cruis- er sim. As that sim evolved, the designers realized that, since they had to simulate an entire carrier battle group anyway, they had the workings of an interesting tactical strategy game. The weapons roster in FLEET COMMAND includes the major naval and navat/aerial weapons systems for 1 9 countries. With the inclusion of ocean maps for the entire planet, there's literally a world of possibilities for potential missions. Whether you want to play out a melee between American and Russian carrier groups, restage the battle for the Falkland Islands, simulate a Middle East hostage rescue, or create a hypothetical regional conflict between India and Pakistan, the appropriate maps and tools are here. The game equips each force with a fairly complete lineup of current-technology ships and aircraft. The United States, for instance, features carriers, missile cruisers, destroyers. Marine assault craft, nuclear attack subs, and a wide variety of other ships. On the aviation side, the U.S. has F-14Tomcats, F/A-18 Hornets, EA-6B Prowlers, S-3 and ES-3 Vikings, E-3 Hawkeyes, and a variety of helicopters. Other vehicles are available when appro- priate: If you have a Marine assault ship in your force mix, you'll also have AV-8B Harriers andAH-1 SuperCobras. And land bases will give you access to P-3 Orion antisubmarine warfare aircraft. You don’t need to be a military buff or a wargamer to be able to command these forces. Telling one unit to attack another is as simple as clicking the unit, then clicking the target. If the target Optivns Dtfint Million CLEAN AND SIMPLE You give commands to your forces by clicking on a simple tactical map; a detailed 3D window displays the selected unit - FOUL WEATHER FIGHTING The game features dramatic weather effects; to improve your view you can swap the tactical and 3D windows. 60«4 H I 01 Dffpth; 34B TYPE UNKNOWN If a ship or aircraft hasn't been identified, it shows up as a simple, generic polygonal view. A. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1999 .'.computerfi.afTiing.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES UUNCH BREAK Smoke and missile trails highlight the launching of a surface-to-surface missile that's about to send an enemy auiser to Davy Jones' locker. SILENT RUNNING A nuclear attack sub- marine slides under the ice. When you have subs at your disposal, you'll be able to give them orders only when they come to communications depth. ICON SEE YOU If you prefer, you can replace the NATO unit symbols with ship and plane icons. 1 CUSTOM COMBAT The editor in RJET COMMAND includes a number of handy shortcuts, including one that creates an entire carrier battle group with two clicks. unit is in weapons range, your unit will fire; if not, your unit will move into range and then open fire. Of course, you can also manually select weapons systems, choosing, for instance, among AIM-1 20 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder, and the 20mm cannon when you send an F/A-1 8 against an air target. With a Ticonderoga class cruiser, you'll find available guns; cannons; SAMs; torpedoes; and Harpoon, TLAM, and TASM missiles. To get the most out of your forces, you’ll want to understand the strengths of each unit and weapon. This is where the Jane's connection comes in. Basic information on a unit's status and capabilities appears when you select it. If you need more data, just press the appropriate key and you can get full performance information and descrip- tions from Jane's Fighting Ships. Jane's All the World's Aircraft, and other publications put out by the company. The game will have scalable realism. For instance, with the difficulty settings dialed up, it will take a specific amount of time to ready aircraft and helicopters for launch. Putting a plane on Alert 5 status will let you launch it within 5 minutes of game time, but it takes 25 minutes to prepare a plane for Alert 5. Gamers looking for a more immediate experi- ence will be able to set the game so that it takes 30 seconds, not 30 minutes, between selecting a hangared plane and launching it. Of course, even if you're playing with full realism, you'll be able to accelerate time when there's no action. Looks That Kill FLEET Command's tactical map control interface is austere. You have a choice of NATO unit symbols or simple unit icons, displayed on a topographical map of the combat theater. But the game is far I from plain. A 3D win- dow in the bottom- center of the screen shows a detailed view of the selected unit. And I mean detailed: FLEET COMMAND features texture-mapped 3D terrain, moving seas, and highly detailed 3D vehicles. When you fire a weapon, it shoots from the appropriate location on your ship or plane, complete with semi- transparent smoke trails; and vehicles display damage when they get hit. You can swap the 3D window into the top half of the screen (normally occupied by the tactical map) if you want a close-up look at the destruction you cause. The game will sup- port Glide, Direct3D, and OpenGL 3D cards. The 3D interface doesn't give you an unreal- istic advantage when it comes to identifying the enemy. If you've detected a unit but haven't sent in a recon flight to identify it, the unit appears in the 3D window as a generic ship or aircraft shape. This anonymity is impor- tant because many missions will require you to make an ID before firing on the enemy. And beware — that plane coming at your carrier battle group may well be a civilian Airbus. Scripted, but Not Predictable FLEET COMMAND will include three mis- sion types; training, single mission, and cam- paign. At this point in development, while the campaigns are actually single missions, they're very long-running ones in which you'll have to achieve multiple goals before winning the battle. Although the missions are prescripted, the game should still offer long-term playability. FLEET COMMAND includes a very sophisti- cated, yet easy-to-use mission editor, which should help spawn numerous add-on missions on the Internet. Even the built-in missions are good for multiple replays since the editor supports multiple levels of random- ness. You can set a number of types of ships and aircraft in a task force and set percent- age chances — not only for which ones will appear, but also for where they'll appear. When you replay, therefore, you may find yourself facing a dramatically different force mix approaching from a different area of the map. This system offers the creative control of scripted missions, while giving players the unpredictability of a dynamic campaign. In multiplayer mode, up to nine sides can be present, and there are intriguing opportunities for teamwork. For instance, you might set up one player to handle an aircraft carrier and its planes, while another player handles the other ships in the same battle group. Jane's is concerned that gamers realize FLEET COMMAND is a strat game, not a sim. But the title has the potential to have very wide appeal. Strategy gamers looking for a more in-depth experience than the typical click-fest will find it appealing. The systems modeling is so deep that the game will likely appeal to the wargaming crowd, and sim fans can look at it as a "third-person" naval sim. However it's classified, it's a breath of fresh air in a me-too market. v I'.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Civilization: Call to Power Can Activision Remake CIVILIZATION in its Own Image? Genre: Turn-based Historical Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Activision Publisher: Activision www.activision.com by Terry Coleman I n 1 997, Avalon Hill, motivated by a need for cash flow and a desire to strike a blow at MicroProse — which it had long consid- ered to have ripped off one of its most prized franchises — licensed the computer rights for ADVANCED CIVILIZATION to Activision. Since SIO MEIER'S CIVILIZATION II was one of the few MicroProse titles making a ton of money over the past three years, the MicroProse folks in Alameda protected their investment by suing for copyright infringement. MicroProse delivered its legal masterstroke by pur- chasing Hartland Trefoil's boardgame company, the original designers of the Civilization boardgame, effectively ending any claim Avalon Hill had to the title. Vi/hen the litigious smoke settled, Avalon Hill had lost all rights to ADVANCED CIVILIZATION, including the boardgame rights (which it had held in North America for 1 7 years). The more than $400,000 settlement that Avalon Hill had to pay in legal fees hastened the end of the company. Activision came out of the suit ahead, as it gained the rights to publish CIVILIZATION: CALL TO POWER and at least one add-on product. As one for- mer AH employee said, "Can you imagine Activision going to MicroProse before all of this and asking for rights to pub- lish a CIVILIZATION competitor to Meier's game? They'd have laughed [Activision CEO] Bobby Kotick out of the state." The irony of all this is that MicroProse and Avalon Hill are now both owned by Hasbro, so something might eventually happen with ADVANCED CIVILIZATION. In the meantime, however, we have CALL TO POWER, and it's a good thing that the legal posturing is over, because Activision's CIVILIZATION is so obviously based on Meier's game that any lawyer would be muttering "look-and-feel lawsuit" in his or her sleep. Just imagine the three-quarter perspective of SID MEIER'S CIV II in 16-bit color, with bigger sprites a la AGE OF EMPIRES, and you have a good idea of the game's layout. The varying time scale, with turns representing fewer and fewer years as you enter the modern era, is left virtually unchanged. Even now, the pacing and the flow of the game is ClV-like, so the design team has nailed at least one aspect of its intended audience. Wonder of Wonders Several things have changed from Civ II, however. The Great Library is now reduced to essentially a Civilopedia, and a lot of your other favorite Wonders of the World are either footnotes or missing altogether. The good news is that the new Wonders of the World are interesting, and there are a lot more of them proportionally later in history — which is when a typical CIVILIZATION II game tends to slow down a bit. The Global E-Bank network, for example, serves much the same function as Adam Smith's Trading Company in CiV II, except that it increases your funds in the 21 st century. The most controversial of the new Wonders will undoubtedly be the Emancipation Proclamation. You see, CALL TO POWER is the first COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1 399 v.computcrgaming.com 7 L’/v^tJ " ,,r ,7;rl'L’''-^ nroi<-^n- 1'^''“''^ yet!'- ■HHHKiiii . .... - Microsoft Motocross Madness" comes free with the Freestyle Pro. 0 1996 All righls reserved. Mctosoli. Motocross Madness, SMoWirflor aro either regislerad tradamarKs or trademarks o1 MictosoH Corporation in (he United Slates and/or oilier countries. Welcome to the Microsoft' Sidewinder’ Frees^e Pro joystick. Now you can throw yourseif into the action. Literally. Every on-screen movement is controiied with your own movement, it’s caiied motion- sensing technoiogy. Accurate and highiy responsive, not to mention works with your favorite games. It’s programmable buttons and super siick design fits your hand iike a giove. Which is handy when you're throwing yourseif from one side of the room to the other. Freestyle Pro Want more? Visit microsoft.com/SideWinder Deception! Terrorist action has seriousip injured Gourron. ^s a member of the Klin^on Honor Guard, pou must take revenue. Hnd pou must be su/ift and merciless. U/ith 10 grisly ureapons in your arsenol, revenue will be yours. Powered by the Unreal " engine, you've never seen the KUn^on world lihe this. This violent. This bloody. Today is a ^ood day to die. THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES game in a long time to deal with the emotionally charged insti- tution of slavery throughout history. While some gamers may find the idea repugnant, slavery hardly seems out of place in a game in which every civiliza- tion can blithely go around nuking one another. In CALL TO POWER, using slave labor is cheaper than using your own popu- lace, but the temptation to do so lessens with more enlightened forms of government. The Emancipation Proclamation effectively ends slavery as an institu- tion, not only gaining victory (and moral) points for your side, but also likely wreck- ing the economy of your enemies. It's a bold stand, and whether it will work with CIV fans remains to be seen. Still, you have to admire Activision's guts in not taking the politically correct route (just think how often SS units have been con- veniently left out of WWIl games). In any case, CALL TO POWER lets you toggle off slavery, just as you can any other major item in the design. Let's Get Religion! The freshest things in CALL TO POWER aren't so much the new units — Leviathan Heavy Tanks, for instance, are just a variation on units found in every sci-fi strategy game from COMMAND AND CONQUER to TOTAL ANNIHILATION — as the new government types. Most of these take their inspiration from some unpleasant aspea of history generally ignored by games. My favorites are the Ecotopians, a bizarre group that seems to idolize the "Free Love" period of the 1960s but is prone to outbursts of extreme violence — sort of "Greenpeace meets Islamic Jihad," according to lead designer William Westwater. In addition to norma! tactics, these ecoterrorists can set off an LSD-like bomb in an enemy city — which tends to render the city somewhat ineffeaive, whether or not it goes into revolt immediately. The Ecotopians even have their own anti- Wonder, a Genesis device that remakes all life on the planet in a new image (though without, as yet, the cool special effects from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan). Religion also rears its head, with clerics that are similar to the priests from AGE OF EMPIRES. In addition to simply converting enemies to your side, clerics can drain an enemy city of gold, entice its population to Living in the Real World T he design team for CALL TO POWER comprises some of the biggest CIVILIZATION freaks I've ever met Like me, they would be etemaily happy playing the main campaign of what project director Cecilia Barajas called “the most replayable game ever made." Problem is, CALL TO Power goes further through history than even CiV n->from 4000 B.C. to A.D. 3000. Not everyone these days has the time or the patience for a 40- hour game— especially for multiplay. Activision plans a battie.net-type server, ActivLink, to host OUJL TO POWER Internet games (whether this service will be live by the time the game ships was unclear at press time). The game should support LAN and direct modem linkup as well. One thing the design team is still hedging is exactly how turns will work In multiplayer format One possibility is to do everything in simultaneous turns, as in WARLORDS III. But CALL TO POWER pushes around more information per turn titan WARLORDS ever dreamed of, with high-res graphics to boot Regardless, Activision intends to have a number of scenarios playable in an hour: an ambitious goal, and an obvious attempt to appeal to the AGE OF EMPIRES crowd. Let's hope it works. revolt, and other nasty things, all in the name of organized religion. By the way, the advanced unit of the cleric in CALL TO POWER is the televan- gelist, every bit as creepy as that sounds (unless I have one, of course). War and Peace Since Activision doesn't have access to the source code for CIV II, it may be hard for the company to match that design's sophisticated diplomacy system. But the designers have implemented a fairly detailed menu-driven interface to let you trade land or goods for cash or mili- tary units. We imagine they'll continue to play-balance this system and integrate it into the economic model right up until the game ships. Combat, on the other hand, is already well fleshed out. Unlike CIV II, CALL TO POWER gives you advantages for attacking or defending with a stack of units, including combined arms modifiers — like those in WARLORDS III, but not as detailed or realistic as in THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR. As you go further into the future, you get more high-tech units, such as a futuristic U2-style spy plane, which may be based on the rumored Aurora of the U.S. Air Force. In general, there seems to be greater emphasis on recon units that help to lift the fog-of-war. In another departure from classic CIV, units can utilize a more active defensive posture, and some units even have — gasp! — ranged combat. Will all of these changes from classic CIV lore work? It's hard to say, though I'll freely admit I had a good time with the beta. The play bal- ance is the thing here, since many of your tried-and-true CIV strategies will need tweaking if you are to survive in this New World order. I'm still a bit skeptical of the game not ending until A.D. 3000, because it smacks of a cheap attempt to end-run SID MEIER'S ALPHA CENTAURl. My main concern, however, is that Activision, with its recent track record for shipping incomplete products, takes the time to finish this promising game. Then we can spend more time arguing the merits of Ecotopian versus Fundamentalist governments and less time down- loading patches. [S3U li fl HARRIET TUBMAN'S FRIEND? Abolitionists get their due in Call TO POWER; shown is both an early water- color painting and the final computer- generated art UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE The Ecoterrorist, the Slaver, the Comhat Engineer, and the Infector (who specializes in biological warfare) show how much the units differ from those of CIV II. iTlIik COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 w.computergaming.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Civilization II IVIultiplayer Gold Edition Mining for More Gaming Treasure Y ou have to feel a little sympathy for the folks at MicroProse. Here they are, with a new version of one of the greatest games of all time, wondering exactly how far they can stretch the design. Do too much that's unfamiliar, and you risk alienating the more than 1 million fans of SiD MEIER'S CIVILIZATION II. Add too little that's new, and you have what one CGkV editor called "a multiplay- er patch for a two-year-old game." Since they do plan to charge money, it's nice that CIV II MULTIPLAYER GOLD will at least be comprised fully of 32-blt code: so long, WinG. It also supports TCP/IP, IPX, LAN. and even play-by-email, complete with standard and simultaneous turns, with an optional timer for each gamer. Our experience when playing multiplayer was that some of the sce- narios worked rather well, but it's hard to finish a full campaign game. To be fair. Civ il works much better with four to six people than MOO II ever did, and while it isn't as smooth as AGE OF EMPIRES, you have by far more diplo- macy. You can't simply rush into the middle of the map and start bashing away. Even for solo players, this might be a good buy because you get classic CIV II (which now runs faster), plus a number of additional scenarios. Since Hasbro seems to be giving the team plenty of time to work out the kinks, this game should avoid the problems associated with 1995's CIVNET. — Terry Coleman Genre: Turn-based Historical Release Date: Q4 '98 Developer/ Publisher: Hasbro/MicroProse www.microprose.coni Sid Meier's Aipha Centauri it's Worid Building at its Best as You E ver wonder what happened to the colonists who left Earth at the end of CIV II? ALPHA CENTAURI gives you the chance to find out. In the game a group of U.N. colonists crash-land on a mysterious planet, and seven factions splinter off from the group — each seeking to settle the planet according to its own principles and ethos. With factions includ- ing God-fearing fundamentalists, radical militarists, planet-hugging consen/ation- ists, and money-loving capitalists, there should be a splinter group to appeal to every type of strategy gamer. An enormous tech tree lies at the heart of ALPHA CENTAURI. Researchable technologies are based on plausible science, not the more fanciful stuff of something like, oh. Lost in Space. Research will yield a host of new options affecting your sociological structure, your Settle the Final Frontier ability to exploit the planet, the units you can build, and other factors. The unit-building feature is particu- larly noteworthy: As you discover new technologies, you'll be able to customize the units you wish to produce. Choosing from various chassis, weapons, armor, energy sources, and special items, you can create exactly the sort of machine you want. Gamers will have to juggle their unit creation wish list between what they want a unit to have and what those features will cost. Multiplayer games should be fascinating as each side churns out custom units that their opponents have never imagined, let alone seen. — Robert Coffey Genre: Turn-based Sci-Fi Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Firaxis Publisher: Electronic Arts Civilization II: Test of Time Will CIV Be in the Muck Without Meier? O K, you already have one CtV II title in production — CIV II MULTIPLAYER — SO of course you add another. Huh? What's more confusing is that no one at MicroProse seems to know where this product is going. MicroProse hinted that it might develop Alpha Centauri scenarios: It's not nice to take shots at Sid Meier (or his next game) just because he's gone, folks. Aside from the attempts to add a little 3D and some animation to the three-quarter CIV II perspective, little else seems new here. MicroProse can't even guarantee that TEST OF TIME will support multiplay. Part of the problem is that the management has insisted that every product in the CiV II line be backward compatible. With that kind of thinking, it's no wonder we have this muddle instead of a potential CIV III. The only reason not to give up on this product is that Mick Uhl, who gave us the excellent CONFLICTS IN CIVILIZATION add-on, heads the project. We wish him luck. — Terry Coleman Genre: Turn-based Historical Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: MicroProse Publisher Hasbro/MicroProse www.microprose.com www.computcfgaming,< COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 A THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY WE'VE EVER SEEN IN A PC GAMING TITLEl" - COMPUTER GAMING WORLD |J4yE BEfM ^qiNG jp’p^y: YOU ARH ALONi;, WASni:i) ASHORK ON INC.ICN'S REMOTE RESEARCH ISLAND, SITE ll, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE I.OST WORLD E X I* E I) I'l 1 O N . REFORE YOU LIES A DENSE, T R O E I C A L J U N 0 L E FILLED WITH E R E 11 I S I O R I C CARNIVORES THAT ARE VERY MUCH ALIVE. YOUR ONLY CHANCE OF SURVIVAL IS TO USE YOUR WITS TO BATTLE THE RELENTLESS WILD LIFE WITH A N Y r I I I N C YOU CAN G E F Y O U R HANDS N . THE EVOLUTION OF 1ST PERSON H-D GAMING. w w \v' . I' u i; s p A s s F K . (.: o m Real-time body impact physics blow oft arms, legs, and even headsi Hunt up to 15 bther players, in one of', tliree muiiiniayer deathmaibbrnodes. www.turok.com 1 THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Imperialism II: Age of Exploration Holy Bismarck, Batman! It's More Expansionist Than the Original! Genre: Turn-based Historical Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Frog City Publisher: SSI www.ssionline.com by Robert Coffey and Terry Coleman G amers who desire grand strategy gaming face a tough decision this year: Figure out which of the tangled mass of CIVILIZATION titles is most worthy of attention and play it, or forgo the confusion and just play IMPERIALISM II. In this instance, the simpler choice may turn out to be the better one. Brave New World For those unfamiliar with the title, the original IMPERIALISM offered the usual mix of expansion, exploration, and exploitation typical of the genre, with the added fun of being loosely set in the period that spanned from the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution to the ascension of Teddy Roosevelt and Otto von Bismarck. While IMPERIALISM II retains its predecessor's classic style of gameplay, the designers of the game have intro- duced so many additions, changes, and modifications that in many ways it's more of a new game than a sequel. When you start IMPERIALISM II, one of the most basic changes immediately becomes apparent — or should that be un- apparent, since fully half of the randomly generated map is now shrouded in black. In order to emphasize the sense of explo- ration and discovery appropriate to the game's time frame — from the 1 6th to the 1 9th century-— everything except the Old World portion of the map is hidden until you, acting as ruler of one of the Old World nations, discover and explore the New World. Certainly, this use of fog-of-war is a lot more realistic— especially in a psychological sense — than the "is there a tree beyond the next pixel, because I forgot to bring the map from the orbiting starship?" so common in recent tactical strategy games. Besides, Columbus thought he found Cathay, not a new continent; you should experience the same potential confusion and sense of wonder when playing the game. This, however, brings up one of the few flaws in IMPERIALISM 11: The Far East is conveniently ignored, even more so than in many western civilization-centered histories (no wonder Nehru felt com- pelled to write History of the Worlditom a different perspective). You don't worry about trading with China or trying to muscle in on Venice's spice trade through Arabia; they sim- ply don't exist. Maybe they'll magically reappear in IMPERIALISM III? Military and Civilian Strikes In any case, once the New World is discovered, you'll be able to colonize, exploit, and conquer what- ever you find there. But be forewarned that you're going to face stiffer competition here than in the first IMPERIALISM. This higher challenge will come courtesy of a much tougher com- puter opponent. Rival, computer-controlled countries will recognize threats and ally to defeat you. While the Al in IMPERIALISM fell apart in the later stages of the game, this new version promises to fight you to the end. And not just through direct attacks, either. The Al will disrupt your trade routes, thus wrecking your economy, starving your citizens, and- costing you the game. You'll need all your cun- ning to win, because smallpox occurs in the New World (to Terry Coleman's great lament) only as a "rare" random OFF TO UNIVERSITY Research is much more developed than in the original IMPERIAUSM, for both civilian and military units. A COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 /.computergamlng.com THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES few extra tons of the crystalline sweet stuff, everybody's fried crab- apple pie suffers, workers revolt, and now you may be the one falling behind in the economic race. All of these factors require that you keep a critical eye on not only your trade routes, but also the changing political landscape— the dynamics of which are the best part of IMPERIALISM N's design. If you go isolationist, as the United States did early in this century, you risk losing the game, as well as missing out on all the fun. Giving Orders None of the additional depth and new and delightful ways to screw one's neighbor in IMPERIALISM II would help much if the game weren't also easier to play than the original. On that front, we've seen evidence that the game is moving toward a more streamlined, user-friendly interface that will make managing your budding empire less cumbersome. In particular, the number of screens you have to deal with is being reduced — so that you don't have to click on the factory, then the worker, then back to the main interface — and those that remain are being better organized for functionality (for instance, all the Diplomatic options are now on one screen). Right-clicking on menu items will give you more detailed infor- mation on those items, and most of the menu buttons will have hot text for instant, capsule explanations. One visual treat from the first game, the turn-by-turn newspaper that announced game developments, is gone, having been replaced by a succinct sum- mary box. While we'll miss the kitschy stories and the period flavor the newspaper provided, we agree with the design team that the fiction often obscured the real game info from the gamer. Finally, a helpful tutorial will ease newbies into the game and should also be useful for introducing IMPERIALISM veterans to the new gameplay. What few quibbles we had with the original seem to have been answered in this well-thought-out sequel. IMPERIALISM II looks more challenging, easier to play (especially multiplayer), and more replayable than any of its "conquer the world" competitors that are likely to release this year. We're ready, and we promise a steam train in every town and a flintlock musket in every house. So you better trade with us. Or else. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JAMUARY 1999 ^ event. You'll have to wipe out and other- wise abuse that native population through hard work — Cortez would have been proud. You'll also need a technological edge. Frog City is making a concerted effort to revamp the tech tree for this game. Even its kindest critics were forced to admit that Imperialism's tech tree left a lot to be desired, especially for veterans of MASTER OF ORION and CIVILIZATION II. Whereas the original had all countries progressing at more or less the same speed, IMPERIALISM II will let you outpace your adversaries. The advantages to this should be apparent the first time your steel- sided steamships sink an armada of wooden ones. A handy menu will let you pick research priorities and then suggest technologies to research in order to meet your goals. About the only thing we miss here that we enjoy in similar games like CIVILIZATION II is the sense of technological brain- storms. There seems to be only one research path in IMPERIALISM II to each discovery. So, there's no reason — in the long run, anyway — not to research everything, some- thing that never really happens in real life, where the Tom Edisons and Nikola Teslas of the world make intuitive leaps and let someone else worry about going back and filling in the gaps. Aside from any concerns of perceived "realism," this can be a huge gameplay issue — although IMPERIALISM II mostly makes up for this by allowing you to develop a spy network and lift research nuggets from your enemies (and your friends). Of course if you get caught playing Mata Hari, you risk losing Most Favored Nation status with your crucial trading partner, and you might even precipitate a huge war that costs everybody money. Finally, it's harder to crack the formula that keeps your nation of workers happy and productive, since there are just too many outside factors that you can't predict. Say, for example, that you're building your mercantile empire around being the largest producer of crab apples in the world. Suddenly, one of your trading partners enters a war with a country that hap- pens to be your main source of sugar. Unless you've had the foresight to stockpile a n gaming ZONC ■ tf. How far are you willing to go to keep your men alive? There are no rule books. No how-to guides. You've got to use your head, improvise, and change your tactics at a moment’s notice. Are you up for the challenge? 1941 to 1945. Four grueling years of war. Four dramatically different seasons. From mind-numbingly cold winters to impossible-to-budge muddy springs. Every weather change comes with a new set of problems. You won’t make it if you aren’t prepared. Microsoft As the front-line commander, all eyes are on you. Ask your soldiers to do something silly and you can expect a mutiny. But with every battle you win, their morale gets better. Bringing a whole new meaning to survival of the fittest. As the war drags on, the technology gets better. You can choose between rocket artillery, off-map artillery, flamethrowers and 80 different vehicles, to name just a few. Not to mention over 300 squad types and 60 different kinds of soldiers. Take your troops from the open field tundra to Berlin. Maps are bigger and based on actual aerial photographs with amazingly accurate elevation detail. The maps may be historic, but the outcome of the war is unwritten. Will history repeat itself? Day one. You’re a low-ranking commander. But keep your troops from fleeing or getting killed and you’ll soon find yourself advancing in rank and commanding more units. www.microsoft.com/games/closecombat tires December 31, 1998 Diamond mail ll.1,.2MB XP Monster 3D Go to #284 @ u|ww.computergaming.com/infolink I rrsi iff purer uu We carry hgEidreds gfegraphic cards all atThei TWISTER AND SHOUT From a safe distance, a shaman calmly watches villagers run so-eaming from the hurricane she has summoned. BEACHFRONT PROPERTY The planets in POPULOUS: THE BEGINNING run the gamut from dark and foreboding to blanketed in snow to this world's scarlet sea and sky. THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAAAES www.computergaming.com Populous: The Beginning Aspiring Deities Never Had It So Good by Robert Coffey T he more we see of this game, the more we can't wait to get our hands on it. Richly imagined visuals, innovative gameplay, and an oddly charming personality utterly unlike any other game are certain to set POPULOUS: THE BEGINNING (POP;TB) apart from the "me-too" games flooding the real-time market. The best news is that by the time you read this, POP: TB should be hitting store shelves. Spreading the Good Word A prequel to POPULOUS I & II, the original god games, POP: TB takes place prior to your deifica- tion. As a shaman with a yen to become the all-powerfu! master of time, space, and dimension, you must become the sole monotheis- tic focal point for 26 different planets in order to achieve your goal. Sure, you can attract and convert followers, but who wants to take the time to do that when you can summon Angels of Death, call forth lightning strikes, or raise up enormous, devastating volca- noes to get rid of pesky nonbelievers? The game's developer. Bullfrog, is strongly empha- sizing the use of magic in POP: TB's gameplay. Although gamers will build structures and raise armies, it's the strategic use of spells that will decide the outcome of most scenarios. This is particularly evi- dent on one planet where you have no followers or villages and must conquer three rival shamans and their villages with nothing more than your magic. Fortunately, the spells you'll have at your disposal are more than up to the task. In addition to those already mentioned, you'll have a hurricane spell, an erosion spell that proves cataclysmic for coastal settlements, a land bridge spell perfect for reaching islands, and more. Aside from their more obvious uses on offense, spells will figure largely in strategic maneuvers. For instance, because the gameworlds are rendered in true 3D, you can use the erosion spell to carve passes through mountain ranges that are biocking your forces, Similarly, the land bridge spell will raise an impassable wall between two peaks. Genre: Real-time Fantasy Release Date: Q4 '98 Developer: Bullfrog Publisher: Electronic Arts The design team has focused on variety and entertainment when it comes to creating the missions. As a result, expea POP: TB to happily stray from the real-time strategy path. Fog-of-war exists on just a few planets and only as the result of a rival shaman try- ing to obscure your vision. This makes sense — as a demigod, you should be able to see a whole planet. One-shot spells exist on many of the planets and are generally the key to viaory, Success on one of the later worlds will hinge on casting the single-shot Armageddon spell, summoning all shamans and their units to a gladiator-style pit. The last one standing wins. The use of terrain in POP: TB will be just as important as the use of spells. Higher elevation will extend your shaman's spell range, so you'll want to get your alter ego on top of the highest elevation whenever possible. Put your shaman in a tower on top of a hill and you can cover an enor- mous amount of real estate. God's Country POP: TB promises to look and play like no other real-time strategy game. Its 3D graphics are more than a nod to a trendy buz- zword; they aaualiy affea game- play. On the most basic level a 3D world totally alters the multi- player game. Think about it' — most multiplayer maps start gamers out in different corners of a big, square grid, leaving them vulnerable to attack on just two sides. But with POP: TB's truly global worlds, piayers are essentially exposed on all fronts. If the beta is any indication, the game should be visually stun- ning. with whimsical, almost Dr. Seuss-ian buildings; dramatic spell effects; and worlds awash in brilliantly hued skies and gen- tly lapping crimson oceans. The lively animations of your follow- ers are especially entertaining, whether they're stomping terrain flat before building, chopping wood, spinning helplessly in a hurri- cane, or desperately running away from a flood of lava. Since the earlier POPULOUS games are considered classics by most gamers, POPULOUS: THE BEGINNING will have a lot to live up to. Odds are it will. For strategists starved for something fresh, POP: TB may well be manna from heaven. ilauvb iJuil-'ilauJi uia ivuilliiy iuj* ;/yiJ4 iiii iiia DO U unil aWa iiia iVaiJil liij'auijh ilialj* . U'7'3 lu7aYila\uii>ij4i3:J:>, IjidU/ sjUa ‘i'iiay'li uilaajpi la Ua ilia 'LaiJuaaliilaJ WalJ^ iai* iiiaiii asuia Ilia au-aJa! uujjis i-juJi iijiU JasJ U3 liAs MyLiuJ ‘i'V iiaA'jaj, vyiUj U^jiiaiiiiila.ai iliiaa ai iiiiufiaiia iiav/ dliila-jaa. BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD: DO U. Whoa, check it out! Beovis and Bati*head are everywhere! On the PC goll coone in "Bnnghole In One", on PlayStation* game console with "Get Big lit H&!:yweed", and now ready to go wherever you go on Nintendo*6ame Boy*! Beovis & Bi/n'heed™OoU 01998 MTV Nelworte. All RighU Reservod 'MTV Music Teievisjoii'. 'Beovis 6 Butt-head' and all related logos, tides Oislrtliutod by GT Interaclivo Soltwaie Coip. GT andlheGTlogaareliademothsoTCTIrnetactive Sottware Cioated by The lllutnitt Gaming EntortaHiraeniInc. Nlnlondo. Gome Boy end Iho olliciet sonls sro regislerod trademarks el Nintendo of America Inc.t) 1989 Nintendo of Anienca. Behind you lie the gntes to the stronghold of New Jollis, the Inrgest city in nil of South Vormis. you stnnd in the central Qunrter before the legendnry Big Rocs’ Cnfe. The Duke hfis decinred n stnte of mnrtinl Inw until the brignnds . thnt hnve been terrorizing his Innds nre defented. \ Grent riches nnd fame Bwoit the heroes thnt succeed, nnd their nnmes shnil be sung by troubodours throughout p * the Innd. Adventure nnd Glory nwnit you in this Rndicnl New Online Role-pinying Gnme. • Over 200 Rnce/CInss combinntions • Scores of shops with thousands of items • Intricate plot lines, not just hack and slash • See what your character sees in a 3D world • Hundreds of magic spells that you can alter to suit your needs Go to #070 @ www.computergaming.com/infotink THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Shadow Company Is This the Real-time Squad Game We've Been Waiting For? by Robert Coffey T his could be the game COMMANDOS should have been. That game disappointed many gamers by promising real-time, squad-based combat but delivering action that was more of an elaborate puzzle than anything involving tactics or strategy. If SHADOW COMPANY follows up on the promise evident in the pre- alpha version we saw, it could satisfy gamers who are hungry to lead small squads in realistic, combat-intensive operations. look lor more on Shadow Company .gamcguides.com Soldiers of Fortune The premise behind the game sounds like a Chuck Norris movie: You and your small band of mercenaries, recruited by a less than ethical corporation, are left behind in hostile territory after a pri- vate war goes sour. Vowing revenge on the traitors who hired you, your team fights its way back to civilization. Visually, SHADOW COMPANY is striking, even at this early stage of the game's design. The gameworld is realistically detailed, with units, objects, and vehicles all rendered in 3D. Yep, you're going to need hardware to run this one. As in an increasing number of games, you view the gameworld via a swooping, panning cam- era a la MYTH. A smooth zoom function lets you pull out for a bird's-eye view of a mission site or move in tight to facilitate detailed movement of your troops. The game will be bro- ken up into campaigns, and missions will feature multiple objectives. A typi- cal mission may have you first take out a small base in order to obtain heavier weapons, then shut down an airstrip, and conclude by having your team wipe out the bases of two war- lords. These are fairly hefty mission goals, espe- cially when you consider that you've got only a three-person team. Often outmanned and under- armed, you'll need to maneuver your band of hired guns deftly, using cover, stealth, and brute force appropriately. Genre: Real-time Modern Era Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Sinister Games Publisher: Interactive Magic www.imagicgames.com THE BIG PICTURE Zooming the game camera out as far as possi- ble gives you a quick picture of the lay of the land and helps you plan your approach. GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS The good news is the dried-out riverbed let this mercenary sneak up on the bad guys. The bad news is the terrorist has the advantage of higher ground in the ensuing firefight Tools of the Trade Fortunately, there should be lots of items at your disposal to help ensure success. Weapons will include rifles, explosives, and grenade launchers: and you'll also have access to scuba gear, flak jackets, wire cutters, binoculars, and starlight goggles. For trans- portation, you'll be able to make use of boats, tanks, snowmobiles, and helicopters. Missions will take place in a variety of environments. Expect to take on bad guys in deserts, on tropical islands, in savannas, and on frozen tundra. These locales are more than window dressing; they will come alive with dynamic, physics-based weather effects including rain, wind that affects bullet trajectory, and snow in which you'll leave footprints. It's hoped that the characters in SHADOW COMPANY will be more than the glorified puzzle pieces that populated COMMANDOS. Early indica- tions are very encouraging. Sinister Games is promising individually scripted Al for each character, ensuring that each responds differ- ently in a given situation. While the pre-alpha I played obviously hadn't implemented most of the Al, I was happy to see team members inde- pendently return enemy fire when they were shot at — you won't see that in COMMANDOS. The game will feature 12 primary mercenaries along with several reserves, and each unit will have his or her own skills and abilities, though all will have the ability to crawl, run, climb, and patrol. While mission design and Al are vital parts of any strategy game, they are going to be abso- lutely crucial in SHADOW COMPANY. Unfortunately, the extremely early preview build 1 played showed only the very beginnings of these elements. If Sinister Games can create varied, challenging scenarios peopled with smart player characters and enemies alike, SHADOW COMPANY could be one of the sleeper hits of the coming year. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1999 A www.southpeak.com 'A/ A ' -i A O ■^- "S. ^ V ■7 A ^ ^ ^ ■7 ' \s\ 0 7^ 0 > „, C v^ 0 C ® X O 'S' ^ . \n ^ c > Tl z ^ z ^ />7 .r Q I t ni A 7 . 5 I ° E m PI ± 0 z PI < 2 ni n " * “ ? 5 ***■ W *> ^ 7 ^ o ^ r- 67 i' / ° •T '’ Diiik Side 01 Ihe Muon is .1 (le('|i-s|)ii 1998 Infogrames Entertainmeni, Inc./Digital Image Design, Ltd. Go to #115 ® www.computergamlng.com/lnfolink THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAflAES Combat Mission A Fighting Phoenix Emerges From the Ashes of Squad Leader D esigner Charlie Moylan likes to be different. Because he loved the Macintosh, he designed FLIGHT COMMANDER for that platform, even though all his fellow designers told him you really couldn’t make money that way. As vastly Improved graphics and processor capabilities led to a new generation of high-end flight simulators for the PC, Moylan decided he would rather make turn-based flight-combat games. After it became apparent that he and Avalon Hill weren't seeing eye-to-eye on the specs for COMPUTER SQUAD LEADER, Moylan removed any traces of copyrighted Avalon material from his design and launched into COMBAT MISSION. What he has achieved thus far is potentially the best tactical WWII game we’ve seen. COMBAT MISSION Is more playable than TIGERS ON THE PROWL and more realistic than games like the upcoming SHADOW COMPANY, and it sports a better interface than STEEL PANTHERS. Genre: Turn-Based WWII Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer/ Publisher: Big Time Software www.bigtimesoftware.com Zero to Sixty COMBAT MISSION is not your typical turn-based varia- tion on Panzerbtitzor PANZER GENERAL. Each player issues orders — movement, suppression fire, retreat, and the like — to his units; once all orders are entered, they're executed simultaneously for both sides during an action phase that represents one minute of actual time. The action phase idea isn't totally new. It has been used before in boardgames in which each side secretly plots moves. The advantage here is that the computer handles all of the tedium, resolving initiative, morale, and casualties where necessary. What's more, this is the first time we've seen this attempted in a WWII game on the PC — a genre for which this approach is eminently suited. As your soldiers move around in the 3D terrain, avoiding equally 3D tanks and minefields, you feel as if you are playing a table- top game over terrain that you’ve sculpted by hand — except this is better. The dam- age model tracks projectiles even after they've missed the intended target: They could damage terrain, take out civilians, even cause friendly fire casualties. Moreover, the game seems to have no trouble handling tricky vertical (y-axis) lines of sight, even when a unit is partially obscured by slopes or terrain. We have no worries about the Al, since Moylan is one of the best in the business at creating a tough computer opponent. The subject matter has been done before, but this is such a different take on WWII combat that even jaded old grognards at CGWare looking forward to this one. Now excuse me while I go lube my '88. — Terry Coleman .COmpuUrgaming.com COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ♦ JANUARY 1999 A vjjun'f yjm/ i, JFJ IJ/F \- ADOieinic locMieed Martin approved Itlplit model ■ and avionics - ■ ° Fast SDIx" snpporl, np to 1024 x 708 wM Vondno2~[lncreaildewlOiSUl , ^ • FmipInteracilvaODvlrinalGOClipli '''AM : § Over 45 stand alone slogle-player; ? cooperaOve missions unrestricted views ol Oie action % Urge-scale Internet play via NovaWorir- go beod-to-aead with over 120 F-IO MnlOrole Fighters, MIG-20 Folcrions" and F-22 Raptors"' GO TO #094 @ www.coinputergaining.com/infolink BiOWAitE' w.Interplay.com 01998 BtoWate Corp. All rigWs rosorved. BALDUR’S GATE, FORGOTTEN REALMS, the FORGOTTEN REALMS logo, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADSO, mo ADSO logo and IhoTSR logo a/e trademarks olTSR, Ino.. a subsidiary of Wizards of Iho Coast, Inc,, and are used by Inierplay under nconse, Inlarplay, the Interplay logo and ‘By Gainers, For Gamers," are trademarks of Intorplay Productions, All rights reserved. The BloWare logo is the trademark ol BloWai^ Corp. All rrghls reserved, ExclusNoly licensed and disiributed by Interplay Producllons. All other copyrights and tradornnrks era the property of Iheir rospacIM otvniits, - - Go to #163 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink The most anticipated RPG of the year In the FORGOTTEN REALMS ®, we’ve lived through foul pestilence, vicious battles, exorbitant taxes, and even the occasional dragon. But when HE showed up, things really started gening ugly. Prepare to be immened into a world of intrigue and mystery on a perilous quest to rescue a storied land from impending war. Even your own soul is at stake as you and a party of adventurers become ,• entangled in a dangerous riddle of betrayed alliances, dark prophecies and murder, % Will you become the unlikely hero of the story, or merely another of its unfortunate casualties? iS Before you answer, the big guy here might have something to say about it. ^ • Explore an immense, ^ inlricaic game world ' from ' ,s I ' cloud-covered mountains & ' ' rain drenched plains to dark ' \ catacombs & abandoned temples - ■' ^ 4 i all meticulously rendered in lush, ' / i6-bit SVGA graphics. ■Ir t : Invoke more than loo spells - Freeze enemies with an icy J blast from a Cone of Cold, or incinerate them with a searing ■ stream of magical flame. ' > ■ ,. v- ' •■=1 ’ 1 'I ^ T? Push your leadenhip skills r y. , to the limit as you guide a ^ ' party of up to six characters, ‘ • I each with a personality that affects gameplay. ^ ^ Don't let your stubborn V ^7 fighter pummel the arrogant j' j V- ^ thirf - you may need their . V^' .. teamwork in your next battle. ' I' t ;i'i Create your-character from - , ‘ six AD&D"^ races and 26 different classes and subclasses. You control every attribute, down to skin and hair color, weapons, and armor - all accurately depicted on-screen. ‘ -T ’ x '5 " '"' i THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Fighting Steel Polish Your Long Lance Torpedo T he lines between ship simulators and wargames always blur a bit, par- ticularly because reflexes — at least in games — are not quite so impor- tant at sea as they are up in the virtual clouds. We'll still claim FIGHTING STEEL as a naval wargame, because it requires that you think in terms of commanding task forces rather than captaining an individual vessel. If you insist on reliving your bygone GREAT NAVAL BATTLES (GNB), there is plenty of micromanagement available here. (Thankfully, you don’t have to play SimShipFireman as you did in the too-combustible GNB3.) But the good news is that FIGHTING STEEL de-emphasizes that level of manage- ment. Rather than require you to run around and do everything from load- ing torpedoes to identifying the radar contacts yourself, the game has you concentrate on the giving of orders. To that end, the interface has been modified since our last visit with the game (C6W#170), so that you can more easily command your formation of ships. Not every vessel will snap to as quickly as you'd like, however, and that reveals a particularly nice design feature; Everything depends on crew quality. Mediocre crews not only take longer to zero in on a designated target, they also reload more slowly than crack crews, and they tend to drift out of formation. So, especially during night battles, you can easily create the chaos of a WWII naval battle in FIGHTING STEEL with no real increase in complexity for the gamer. The areas in and around the Pacific depicted in the game so far appear almost too evocative of the gray seas they represent — they're a far cry from the liquid ripples of TOTAL ANNIHILATION: KINGDOMS. Nonetheless, the 3D ship mod- els show promise, and it seems as if SSI will require a 3D card for this one. Once the more than 100 ship classes are ready to go, they'll sail through campaigns for both the Japanese and Allies during the years 1941-43. Before you complain about the time limitation, keep in mind that it reflects a reality the Japanese faced; If they could not win by the end of 1 943, they were simply going to be ground down by the weight of the U.S. industrial war machine. Also, FIGHTING STEEL focuses strictly on sur- face ship combat — no subs and no aircraft carriers — and that doesn't leave a whole lot to simulate after 1 943. Given SSI's trumpeting of its integrated LIVING BATTLEFIELD series, however, I wouldn't be surprised to see a carrier battle or three in some future product. Current plans are for FIGHTING STEEL to support IPX. TCP/IP, and LAN — a very good thing, since this game is most likely to hit its stride when played online. Most real-life naval battles were essentially over in an hour or less. FIGHTING STEEL, like most games of this type, has a default speed a bit faster than real life, and it's easily adjustable. You can thus spend more time contemplating your stately maneuvers than Admiral Flalsey ever had, or you can navigate on the fly while trying to sink your buddies over a lunch break. This game is taking almost as long to finish as it took for MacArthur to return to the Philippines, but it looks as if it will be worth it. — Terry Coleman Genre: Real-time Naval WWII Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Divide By Zero Publisher: SSI www.ssionline.com COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1999 ilk IU 0 VALQ 6 IC res '-Miuyra OR onnriW 'W, oinMAiK. ‘nirciBtR*iMeEinlKiMecnnBlinRilidi*feiniRBr«BmiK GO TO r/12S @ www.computergaming.com/infolink E]0®°2© FULCRUM SHROUDED IN SECRECY DEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN UNTIL NOW... • FDgM model tested by ViirlPrllilioillio, Russian MIE-2Stestpllot/cosnionaut • Fast and fnrious 3Dtn'“ supported combat wtth hiph deflnitlon graphics (1024 x 768 witbVoodoo2") • Highly detailed Interaetise cockpit • B dilterent camera views tor excepHonal situational awareness • Over 40 stand alone shigte player/ cooperative missions • Large-scale Internet play via NevalVorld"- go head-to-head with over 120 F-1B lUnltlrole Hghters", MIE-2S Fidcrums and F-22 Raptors" 34 different car}*os and 59 engine from around the World. 1024 X 768 graphics in '16-bj color. Up to 300.000 pi»jyt*on .on the screen at once. ' 40 different tycoons all share one |{oal|^ han^rupting .you. •New York to South ir 2000. It can take ynu iMi^^c^manual laborer to power- ijltiiaillid^ire. It can >ake you ■ well-adjusteil, w^ to an ob&e»se«l« single* I tl'lr*:' * '» » a a plane* car or r:^^bpj^i^i^^Shec,|^bw^Ttns b -a r£«l Rame ^h Cfvlhai^j ,t.|o 'Wvolve railroads. w^hiii^^^'butlientic. froi^t the period wi l)tPoanc|^.cithe*itQ|[erlaced within the i;<^ei •tJesign ajid interface. A.I. wtfnSdiwn. 9 /ctbas^. ph real people. And liThiiiapBpIt^^t-^Y ^^sibd on satellite pho- .io^j|'ft 6 s kJ.'S. Geolo|>ical '$utvey -iind tftb^%i>iiYies). ; J ' • ; ;•;> - 3 -, - jj Don’t gel- ll^'^^^ O December ^ The Beachhead at Tyr You’re losiDg men. Can ^ou keep your composure? In Myth II: Soulblightcr. panic is your greatest enemy. It’s up to you to remain calm and focused during the frenzy of battle. You devise the strategies. You make the crucial decisions. Move forward with tne mission and risk massive casualties, or retreat and live to fight another day? Time is running out. The wrong decision may cost you half your men. No decision will cost a / n I ^u your entire army. i ll . \ I What’s it going to be? ^ \J F To order Myth II: SoulbJightcr^^|k^ call 1-800-295-0060 or visit our website at Mc.com. Go to #110 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Forget the box. Forget limits. Forget small. The future of games is online. Massive. Random. Forever changing. Populated by thousands. Real people. Real battles. Real adventures. This is GameStorm. GAMESTORM www.gamestorm.com The best massively multiplayer games. Virtually any networkable CD-ROM game. Award-winning editorial content. Thriving player communities. All in one package, for one price. Unlimited play. $9.95 monthly. First month FREE! KESMAI OOOOQC^^ Air Warriors ill, Aliens''' 3rnine, ’ Varcrafi n --, Diablo™, Claw™, Virtual Featured games include: All the latest news, reviews, Godzilla® Online, Jack Nickisus's Pool'’^.tjescent‘'-',Splatterb5ii™, QUAKE™ l&iI,NetPighter™, features, tips, downloads Online GcffTci;- ^r:;iUiF;ayer Rol6maste.’'™;Magestcrm, Darkness Falls™, Hexen IF'^ Bartlezone™, Total and more from the BattleTech'y, Legends cf Kesr-?'®, Rclemaster™:"he Biadelands’”, Anr!ihii3tion™,Mech Warrior'^ 2, Internet site named Starship Trocpe^s'’''^ casir.--.,-ct-d, Palace, Biiiboard Live^ WarCraft™ II, Postal™ ...and virtually "Best Gaming Site" and board games., .and more! Tri'/!a...and more! any netv/orkable CD-ROM game! by EntertoinmentV/eekly. Go to #197 @ www.computergamlng.com/infolink GameStorm’” is a trademark of and Kesmal* Is a registered trademark of Kesmal Corporation. ENGAGE games online''" is a service mark of Games On-Line, Inc. All rights reserved. SegaSoft™, HEAT” and HEAT.N£T™are trademarks of SegaSoft Networks, Inc.GameSpot™ Is a trademark of GameSpot Inc. All other trademarks, registrations, and copyrights are properties of their respective holders. THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Genre: Real-time Sci-Fi Release Date: Q1 '99 Developer: Pumpkin Studios Publisher: Eidos Interactive www.eidosinteractive.com Warzone 2100 Don 't Just Build Your Forces, Design Them W ith every real-time strategy title scrambling to find some way to distinguish itself, WARZONE 2100 has left it to the player to make the game unique. How? By letting gamers themselves custom design their own com- bat forces. WARZONE 2100 doesn’t veer too far from the tried and true in terms of core game- play — gamers still must explore, find energy resources, research technology, and build units for combat. But when it comes to the units themselves, well, that's where things get different. As gamers acquire technology, they can set out on various research paths to upgrade and develop their forces. Using that research, gamers will be able to construct their units through a three-step design interface. By choosing which type of turret, body type, and propulsion source to use in a vehicle, gamers can build the units they think will be best suited for the mission at hand. With about 400 options from which to choose, gamers will have thousands of possibilities. Fortunately, since you'l be able to delete any obsolete designs, you won't have to pick through hundreds of options each time you build a unit, While individual design characteris- tics will greatly determine a unit’s effec- tiveness, experience will play a part as well. Vehicles will carry over from one mission to the next, gaining experience that will make them perform more effi- ciently. If you take care of your units, you'll be able to put together a skilled, deadly fighting force after just a handful of scenarios. This persistent world quality spills over to other parts of WARZONE 2100. Instead of presenting the gamer with a new map for each mission, the game expands the original map in range. Thus, your base must be developed and protected through a series of missions. This doesn't mean you'll be stuck with the same map throughout the game, however: There will be 38 missions spread across 3 campaigns taking place in valleys, mountains, and ravaged cities. Not surprisingly, WARZONE 2100 has jumped aboard the 3D band- wagon and will feature true 3D terrain and vehicles. Elevation will affect combat effectiveness, with higher units having a decided advantage over forces on lower ground. To keep track of units and battles, gamers will use a free-moving camera that can pan in any direction and zoom. The effect is similar to that of MYTH but is somewhat more intuitive. With the custom unit design, multiplayer matches promise to be inter- esting, Pumpkin Studios plans to support multiplayer games of up to eight gamers over LAN or Internet and is also working on creating a built-in ranking system. Ail in all, WARZONE 21 00 Is an ambitious product, Whether it can fulfill its ambitions remains to be seen. — Robert Coffey COMPUTCR GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Extreme Coi You've been gaming ever since you got weaned on Pong as a kid. Nowypu want a stick that'll do it all. Programmable, g Digital. Analog. Comfortable. Cool. I Different New. I GenX 700 by QuickShot is all that and I more. This programmable stick comes I complete with switches to move between I digital and analog modes for the HAT, f rudder, handle fire buttons.andX&Yaxes. g Plus a 30 rotational handle and a multi- view HAT switch. This stick's super- ’ g ergonomic with a contoured BioThrottle™ I complete with extra fire^uttons. And the I GenX 700 is a really cool metallic purple I color — sure to look perfect anywhere. I Don't forget to check out our streamlined I GenX 500 and 500L — the world's first f| joystick made for lefties! I Punish yourself no more. Enter the I generation of extreme control. I GETTHISSnCK! '.quickshot.' v.computergaming.c GO TO #260 ^.computergaming.com/infolink Manipulate environments in order TO PROGRESS THROUGH SIX TREACHEROUS. MISSION-BASED WORLDS. Morph into four different vehicle TYPES including LAND. HOVER. AMPHIBIOUS AND SUBMERSIBLE. / 3d scalable graphics engine lets the GAME RUN ON JUST ABOUT ANY PC AND TAKES FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE LATEST 3d HARDWARE ACCELERATION WITH FULL V00D002'" SUPPORT. r ^ \. ¥ Tote 18 high-powered weapons including the arc saber, proximity mines, napalm, freon CANNONS AND HIGH INTENSITY LASERS. -ft P.S TJI yr ii- - • Combat evil forces alone or jump ONLINE AND WREAK MULTIPLAYER HAVOC IN AN 8-PLAYER DEATHMATCH. DEMO RATED 5 OUT OF 5 . -GAMESPOT ...THE FINAL RELEASE IS CERTAINLY ON MY MUST-HAVE LIST." ■ . -ADRENALINE VAULT ZIPPCR INWHACnVE] THE VISUALS IN THE GAME ARE STUNNING AND THE GAMEPLAY IS EXTREMELY IMMERSIVE.",' -GAMESLICE Looks to be a killer ADDITION TO THE GAME GENRE." -NEXT GENERATION ONLINE f mm Ik . ^ THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Star TVek ; l\lew Worlds star Trek Enters the Real-time Neutral Zone Genre: Real-time Sci-Fi Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Binary Asylum Publisher: Interplay www.interplay.com I f I'm sorely in need of a Mr. Spock fix. 1 need go no farther than my local pharmacy. There I can wander like a drugged Andorian, blissfully picking up Star Trek paperback novels. Star Trek Band- Aids, Star rreik vitamins, Star TreA- videos (with more than a minute of original footage never before seen on TV!}, and my favorite — Star Trek toilet tissue. Given the franchise's expansion into every universe imaginable in the past three decades, it's hardly a sur- prise to see a TreA spinoff in the real-time strategy gaming genre. The folks at Interplay are being highly secretive about STAR TREK: NEW WORLDS, but in between the usual buzzwords such as "total interaction" and "uniquely immersive," ourTholian spies have dis- covered a few facts. The 3D environment does look nice, with colorful explosions. Even at this early stage, the combat strives for that TreAfeel, as the Fantasy War Sony Goes Into Battle Online Genre: Turn-based Fantasy Release Date: Q4 '98 Developer: Crossover Technologies Publisher: Sony Interactive www.fantasywar.com W hile it /s turn-based, FANTASY WAR isn't simply a rehash of WARLORDS III or HEROES OF MIGHT & MAGIC II. It's a charming online-only design crammed full of idiosyn- crasies. You can, for example, render one of your opponent's leaders "indisposed" for the turn, leaving you free to move an occupying army into one of his minor allies' territories. Play involves up to seven would-be conquerors issu- ing orders for troop movements, spell-casting, hero recruitment, and the like. Once all orders are received, the game's server at Sony processes them simultane- ously, assigning initiative randomly to keep things hopping. In this way, gamers should be spared the usual turn-based tedium of having to wait several ground units hover above the surface and maneuver like land-based star- ships. All the races from the series have the toys you'd expect; Romulan Cloaking Tanks, Klingon Mobile Disruptor Batteries, and Phaser Tanks for the Federation folks. (At press time it's not clear to us whether you'll first have to try to talk your enemies to death before shooting them.) Other touches include tricorder readings for your strategic map, hydroponics facilities to build, and the like. While STAR TREK: NEW WORLDS supports multiplayer action, we're guessing that the mission-based campaigns — full of exploration, planetary exploita- tion, and bad blood — could make this the game that OUTPOST II should have been, with TreA flavor to boot. — Terry Coleman minutes for someone else to move. The simple mechanics encourage fast play. The designers even plan to have a blitz game in which the time limit will be about three minutes per turn: You'll have to prioritize your moves because you just won't have time to do everything once many forces are on the map. For those who like to ponder all the strategic alternatives, however, there is an epic game as well, which resembles a play-by-email game. Combat is brisk, comprising three rounds: ranged attack, any attempts to flank the opponent, and final melee. Morale is a big part, and armies may break and run before losing all their troops — a nice change from the "fight to the last Ore" so prevalent in many recent strategy games. Economics play a big part in FANTASY WAR as well, but it doesn't seem particularly complicated during play. Even in this early stage, this is one of the most promising online games we've seen in awhile. — Terry Coleman Machines Do-It-Yourself Warfare Genre: Real-time Sci-R Release Date: Q2 '99 Developer: Charybdis Publisher: Acclaim www.acclainination.com I f the lousy pathfinding and imprecise unit response of other real-time games has just about driven you away from the genre, you may want to give MACHINES a look when it ships this spring. MACHINES lets you command your forces from both an isometric third-person perspective and a free-roaming, ground-level view, but it will also let you jump into any of your units to steer it, aim it. and fire it. Perfect for missions requiring precise maneuvering, this feature will let you guide vital units deep into enemy bases — dodging defen- sive fire — and actually enter enemy facilities to steal or sabotage technology. Strategists who fear they lack the twitch reflexes necessary to puli this off can rest assured that missions will be designed so that you can also win without having to personally guide your forces. As the sentient machines slug it out across a series of planets in 30 branching missions, you will have to seek out upgrades for your forces. Hardware upgrades for the 1 8 basic machines should pump the unit total up to about 50; software upgrades will increase your scanner range, improve your weapons' firing distance, and make your "unmanned" machines smarter by improving their pathfinding. Night vision upgrades will be vital since the gameworld will cycle through day and night. All of this will be delivered in, what else, glorious 3D, with hardware acceleration required for the game's 3D terrain, the fully polygonal units, and the dynamic lighting and environment effects. — Robert Coffey COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 /, coniputergaming.com ■ao k nov0V/orld ■ est of the extraction point ^ surrounding you. You’re down "to your last few rounds - cold, dog-tired, wounded The only easy day '-^as yesterday. Welcome to Hell> ladies A complete arsenal c to choose from kveapons Motion capture technology brings characters to life :e the enemy over unprecedented distances A Play in either 1st or 5rd person across miles & miles of outdoor environments A Over 40 gut-wrenching missions APremiering Voxel Space® 5 graphics terrain with 52-bit color Aaiissions developed with the assistance of a former U.S, Army Delta Porce Officer FRCe LARBE SCALE MUITI-PLAY HOW PLAYING ON mmsrUMl .. NOVALOGIC ■ !■ U ■ fi b u u I U www/.f!CJtM;c>s’ic.com BOO.a3a.13SS nmaitoviLogic.lw.VwtlSiauandNovjtDgiciiertgr-X'cdlixIemiitsinilfKiUIoitt.Nuviyn'UiK'JlfKMutWailitl'WeiiHiUoltlcMiLoOC.lK 'Intffmlstivn'eiiuiral.PUrernponiiMelvaljpplicalAInlniKllKS.NoviLtgicreeivesUiensMlDcliinfeirielernKolsenijctitrvliint Go to #127 r] 1 1 Kj Ti i T •X* 1 'X 1 ^ W M U B U M n M i [ rH 1 M i THE NEW WAVE OF STRATEGY GAMES Roller Coaster Tycoon And Now for Something Completely Different A s a rule, roller coaster games put me off my feed because they tend to remind me of that horrid Disney wire-frame game of a few years ago. Really, it was more like a CAD pro- gram masquerading as a roller coaster game. Well, I'm happy to report that my appetite is quite healthy after spending time looping around in ROLLER COASTER TYCOON. If the title reminds you of MicroProse's TRANSPORT TYCOON, it should: Both games are by designer Chris Sawyer. The difference is that ROLLER COASTER TYCOON never stops being fun. it's a lot like SlMCITY, in that you can keep designing death-defying rides without paying attention to the campaign game— which has a lot of depth— as you research and develop new rides. Simultaneously, you try to keep your customers happy and turn a profit. In fact, the game reminds me a bit of the old THEME PARK, except that it's better looking and a lot easier to play — something the producer proved to me by constructing a towering roller coaster in lesc than 10 minutes, complete with squealing teenagers and people staggering off the ride, tossing their cookies. We're always asking for something dif- ferent, and ROLLER COASTER TYCOON should definitely fit the bill— just bring your own cotton candy. — Terry Coleman Genre: Real-time Carnival Release Date; Q2 '99 Developer: Chris Sawyer Publisher: Hasbro/MicroProse www.microprose.com Long Ago and Far Away Remakes, Secret Projects, and Rumors N ot only are Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors frantically trying to fin- ish up the epic BATTLE OF BRITAIN forTalonSoft {see our "Holiday Hot 100” in last month's issue), they are also underway on STEEL PANTHERS [V. Could this be the title that returns the famed series to the forefront of modern-era strategy games? From what we've seen, the gameplay will be very tactical— to the point where you can con- trol individual tanks. But we're a bit skeptical about SSI's claims that on maximum zoom, one pixel on your screen will equal four inches of real terrain. A new, more accessible interface and point-to-point movement are welcome changes to the design, and the team insists that "unit movement is more dependent upon battlefield conditions than an artificial turn system." Sounds a lot like the initiative-based system used in ACHTUNGl SPITFIRE, which would be fine by us. In any case, don't expect STEEL PANTHERS IV until late 1999. What's Up With, AH, Hasbro? Well, It looks as though the absorption of Avalon Hill by the Boston Borg is turning out better than anyone had a right to hope. Bill Levay, former head of computer game development for Avalon Hill, has evidently accepted a posi- tion with Hasbro for the express purpose of determining which AH games can be easily adapted to the computer. Being a large public company, Hasbro has no official comment on which AH titles might be first in the queue. However, given the obsession of several Hasbro designers with DIPLOMACY and HISTORY OF THE WORLD, don't be surprised to see new and improved PC versions of those titles in the next 1 8 months — maybe sooner if Hasbro's AXIS & ALLIES is a hit (see our review on page 358). On the other hand, it seems that all the AH computer projects that were in development at the time of the Hasbro acquisition are now history: The Pacific version of OVER THE REICH is in limbo, and Big Time Software has turned to COMBAT MISSION (see page 1 27 in this issue). GUADALCANAL is MIA as well, but designer Steve Magestro has formed his own company. Rebel Interactive. While Magestro is being somewhat sparse on details, there's a good likelihood given his history, that he's working on a Pacific-theater WWII game You can ask him yourself at wvvw.reblactive.@aol.com FREEDOM IN THE GALAXY (which graybeards will remember as an ancient SPI board- game), adapted for the PC by MicroProse veteran Jim Syrmfski looks to be down for the count as well. Other Titles on the Horizon The acquisition of Virgin has left a lot of project' in the lurch there as well. Strategy First, however, is still working on MAN OF WAR II which sports much better 3D than the original Expea this sequel in the spring of 1 999. We can't be so sure about ROAD to MOSCOW, saved from purgatory by Interaaive Magic The game certainly looks better (and more playable) than it did more than a yeai ago, but ROAD TO MOSCOW is Such an ambitious projea- -the entire Russian Front of WWII with detailed supply and Al. down to company level — that it could be several months before small details like play balance are ready for the marketn'ace MALKARI, another 1-Magic title, tries to be a tongue- in cheek SEVEN KINGDOMS light, complete with Aztec priests casting spells of doom on incredulous conquistadors. The big question with this real-time New World game is whether the graphics — at this point, looking very 1 996- s''’ loj'n.'ttiii: irndtinurks ul iNtiiicilitiiiititiiiJ''' All utliuf UiitluiijikMiinI iratlt Or what’s left of them.: Qation,caU l-877^ET-NANO toft-free ILLUSTRATION: Dan Fitzpatrick BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • SIMULATIONS F light simulations are arguably the most com- plex of all computer games to create. Where the simple existence of gravity or momentum passes for "real physics" in some game genres, flight-sim designers face a demanding audience that knows not only how real planes fly, but also how real pilots fly them. But designing a sim isn't just about maximum realism. An authentic World War II sim might have you flying 10-hour missions and finishing a three-month career with only three kills. While there’s a niche market that would love that experience, that's not the game most sim players are looking for. And for every sim fanatic who's looking for the maximum in realism, there's a newbie sim player that game designers want to turn into a fan. This gamer needs a plane that's easy to get into without a trip to the local airport for flying lessons. So how do designers balance these demands for play- ability, accessibility, and realism? Flight P lanni ng "I truly believe that highly realistic sims are the most difficult of all games to build, from an engineering standpoint (with the possible exception of massively multiplayer persistent state worlds like ULTIMA ONLINE)," says Andy Hollis, who is best known for his Origin Skunkworks projects, the award-winning JANE'S LONGBOW series, and F-1 5. Hollis has been creating sims since the days of the Atari 800. Hollis outlines the complexities: "First, you have to build a com- plete simulation of a real airplane. Geez, the Defense Department spends millions on this. And it bet- ter be right, or the customers will complain. Then, you have to build a photorealistic graphics environ- ment in which to fly the thing. And it must work well up high from a distance, and down low and close. You just can't play the same kinds of tricks as you can in a 3D shooter. Finally, you have to CRASH COURSE Building a Flight Sim Shouldn 't Be So Tough: You're Just Re-creating Reality. . . [by Denny Atkin] make a compelling mission envi- ronment in which to play the game. Enemies that work together to defeat you, unexpected sub- tleties, and plausible reactions to anything the player does. Basically you have to build a commercial- grade military simulator and a great game all at once. Oh. and did I mention the challenges of Internet multiplayer gaming for a realistic combat sim?" It's enough to make a fledgling sim designer decide that curing the common cold might be easier. Paul Grace, whose projects include CHUCK YEAGER’S AIR COMBAT, the U.S. NAVY FIGHTERS series, and JANE’S WWII FIGHTERS, concurs. \ COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 SIAAULATIONS • BUtLDING THE PERFECT GAME HIT BUBBLES This P-38 from FIGHTER DUEL 2 shows the bounding sphere system used to detect which part of an aircraft is hit by bullets. zero,' but once you get far away [from your starting point] they may 'grow' far- ther apart or closer together simply owing to how com- putations get pro- cessed, In some cases you can switch to a higher precision data representation; in other cases you may need to completely recode how the computations are done to pre- vent the problem." In other words, don't quit your day job to develop flight sims if you struggled with high school algebra. "I have to agree with Andy," Grace says, " I don't think there is any more demanding piece of entertainment soft- ware engineering. The environment is huge, the graphics are trending toward photorealism, the frame-rates increase, the gameplay is complex, the sound multi- variate, the Al needs to be flexible enough to handle the ebb and flow of combat." Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, Grace adds. "I think that the demanding nature of the software is why the category is popular." Matt Shaw and Ted Jump are currently working on FIGHTER DUEL 2, Infogrames' latest entry in a series of World War II games that traces its history back to the heyday of the Amiga. Jump's experience mirrors that of Hollis and Grace. "In our opinion, flight simulators have many more difficulties than just about any other genre," Jump says. "The program has to represent everything from your cockpit instrumentation two feet in front of your eyes to a mountain range 40 miles away and everything in between. A vast database of terrain data consisting of both height and texture maps must be maintained and delivered quickly for smooth flight." And just having the proper data doesn't mean you're going to get it right. Jump says. "Owing again to the distances that are required to be manipulated, it is easily possible to create software that causes improper behavior or rendering simply because of how floating-point data is handled. Consider two gauges in the instrument panel that may be only cen- timeters apart. Depending on the compu- tations required to manipulate them in three-dimensional space, they may look and render fine when you are near 'world Preflighl Check of course, the first step in building a flight sim is choosing what you're going to simulate. Recent release trends might make the more conspiracy-minded think that a virtual trilateral commission of flight sim developers gets together and has discussions along the lines of "Okay, last year we all did F-22 simulations. This time let's all do World War II sims." But in fact, the process is a bit more scientific. I asked Andy Hollis how Jane's chooses which platform to simulate. "We look at a number of factors, " Hollis says. "How well-known is the sub- ject aircraft? Clearly an F-1 5 is more well- known than an F-4, and Longbows are more well-known worldwide than any other attack helicopter, in order to appeal to a broad market of players, we want to choose high-profile aircraft that everyone agrees are sexy! Niche aircraft usually lose out here." So if you've been waiting for that F-1 05 Thunderchief or Brewster Buffalo sim, it's time to move on. Next. Hollis says, developers ask how interesting is the role of the aircraft? Aircraft that are pure strikers or pure dog- fighters provide less variety of experience for the gamer. It's better to have lots of interesting situations to play out. "Has the aircraft been involved in (or will it potentially be involved in) note- worthy conflicts? For some historical sims, this is the key question to ask, with the sim being focused on multiple aircraft in that conflict," Hollis adds. Another consideration when choosing a subject is how much real information is A PHANTOM APPEARS This sequence shows how Origin Skunkworks turned a line drawing into a 3D F-4 Phantom. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD • JANUARY 1399 IT'S TIME YOU Command & Corejuan i8 a registered troOemork of, and Command & Conqtier Tibenon Sun. and Westwood Studios are trademarks of, West/ood Studios, New “ueteranev” feature enables units to become smarter, faster amt stronger as they become battle hardened uiith combat euperience. Experience the future of global war with new, high-energy weapons and defenses - Jump Jet Infantry, Laser Fences, Disruptors, Houer Tanks, Tunneling APCs, The Firestorm Defense, Mechanized Battle Units and many more. Built-in waypoint system and special drop ship missions let you decide which units to bring into battle. More tactics of sabotage and guerilla warfare - execute conert night missions, set forest fires and destroy bridges - with onigue opportunities in three different enuironments. i Internet play is easier than ever with a streamlined connection and an integrated interface - plus new support for worldwide rankings, ladder systems and Battle Clans~. tim Revolutionary new battlefield physics - Deformable terrain, energy weapon effects, dynamic colored lighting and flying shrapnel - intensifies the realism and excitement. THE STUNNINC SEQUEL TO THE SAW THE FUTURE ORIGINAL COMMAND & CONQUER BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME • SIMULATIONS available on the aircraft. Hollis explains, "For 'study' sims, we need to have access to enough real data on the plane to create accurate flight models, complete avionics suites, and interesting realistic mission profiles. Related to this is ready access to the air- craft themselves and the pilots that fly or flew them. Books and pictures are great, but seeing and touching the real thing, and hang- ing out with the people who work with them provides a much higher sense of connection." The last thing that Jane's looks at, Hollis says, is what the other guys are creating. "What is the competitive circumstance? This one is the lowest priority, since we usually don't worry too much DESIGNING FOR MULTIPLAYER O nce you've flown a flight sim against other humans, it's hard to go back to even the best Al opponents. But right now, designers must consider that the vast majority of flight sim pilots are flying solo against the Al. Of the number of pilots who fly sims multiplayer, Andy Hollis says, "I'd peg that as less than 20 per- cent. Of course, they all have Internet access and like to voice their prefer- ences on the Usenet news- groups." Still, that small percent- age doesn't mean multi- player is not a concern for developers. Hollis explains, "Multiplayer hasn't been fully exploited in combat sims. The potential is huge, but there are engineering challenges to be overcome, especially for the more realistic and comprehensive sims. Jane's Combat.net has been reasonably successful, but we have much bigger plans for that." about what the competition is doing, but it's not usually a good idea to be building a product based on a concept that has already been beaten to death — can you say 'F-22'?" Hollis tends to focus on "study" sims, which simulate a single air- craft in great detail. Jane's other development group, headed by Paul Grace, focuses primarily on "survey" sims, which simulate a group of aircraft. "I think there is a bit of a difference when you are building a survey product," Grace explains. "We search for the popu- larity, the romance, the things that seem fun about flight. We also try to pick things of personal interest, hence naval and strategy simula- tions. or just some concepts that we might think would work as a simulation." Kit Planes Once the topic is chosen, it's time to dive in and do the research. How were these planes flown, and more importantly, how did these planes fly? Building accurate flight models for sims is an amazingly difficult task no matter what the topic. But when the planes that you're simulating were last used in battle more than 80 years ago, just pinning down their basic performance can be quite a challenge. Jerome Kluth of Dynamix's RED BARON 3D development team said the team had to consult a variety of sources to get a com- plete set of data on the World War I planes they were simulat- ing. "Our initial source was our staff historian, John Bruning, and all of the historical literature on the subject we could find, includ- ing pilot diaries and autobiogra- phies. as well as books on indi- vidual aircraft." The team didn't stop after the trips to the library, though. "To help put the sometimes colorful descriptions into a more objec- tive form, we used contemporary references, such as Jeff Ethell's pilot reports on various replicas, as well as information from pilots of flying replicas," Kluth OFF THE SHELF Sometimes developers can use off-the-shelf tools in creating sims; KPT Bryce is being used to model land areas in FIGHTER DUEL 2, while aircraft models are built in Lightwave 3D. said. "Information such as top speeds and climb rates was available for most of the planes, but things such as roll rate, turn rate, and structural limitations were mostly available only in a comparative form. Period films and still photographs of aerial combat gave us some measure of objective data, and using the comparisons as a guide, we start- ed by adjusting the most maneu- verable plane and proceeded from there." Matt Shaw says the FIGHTER DUEL 2 team had similar chal- lenges with someWWII planes. "Some aircraft are easy to get flight data on (for example, there are reams of data on the P-51}. Some are more difficult, and for some, the flight data doesn't exist in any form (the Japanese J7W1 Shinden, for example). To get data for the physical models and flight models in FIGHTER DUEL 2, we start by utilizing the vast library of technical data we've been accumulating for the last seven years. That gives us flight perfor- mance data as well as aircraft flight idiosyncrasies. Published reports on how well a particular aircraft performs have to be eval- uated, as they are often subjective and false recollections years after the fact. Furthermore, field modifi- cations to aircraft were quite common in WWII, sometimes dra- matically changing the flight char- acteristics of a particular aircraft model. The addition of metal ailerons to the Spitfire is a good example of this." Sometimes, Shaw says, you've just got to hit the road. "We've COMPUTt;H GAMING WORLD ♦ JANUARY 1999 SIMULATIONS • BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME made many trips to National Air and Space Museum Garber facility, which is local to us, as well as the Chino Planes of Fame Museum In California, and museums such as the Duxford Imperial War Museum in England." Once a flight model is defined, it's time to put it to the test. And who better to test the planes' per- formance than the pilots who've flown the real things? Bruce Williams, the lead project planner for Microsoft's COMBAT FLIGHT Simulator, explains some of the flight testing that went into that product. "We worked closely with pilots from the Confederate Air Force, WWII veterans, and other experts to test and fine-tune the flight models for the various air- craft," Williams says. "Using the same process that we developed for FLIGHT SIMULATOR, we took the software to the pilots, had them try it, and then refined the flight characteristics through an iterative process based on their feedback." With historical aircraft, it's still possible to find pilots who had lots of time at the controls of a plane, but much more difficult to find pilots who are actually cur- rent in those aircraft. "Lad Doctor of the Confederate Air Force was very helpful in this process. He is one of the few people alive who is relatively current in the Spitfire, BM09, P-47, and P-51. He was not a WWII pilot, but his being very current and analytical was a big benefit for us," says Mike Schroeter, flight model designer for COMBAT FLIGHT SiM, With modern planes, finding the information is a bit easier, but it's no less time-intensive. Jane's Andy Hollis says that much of the infor- mation for F-15 and Longbow came from visits to active bases and inten/iews with current pilots. Civilian sims are perhaps the easi- est to find a group of enthusiastic, knowledgeable testers for. Richard Harvey, the project leader for Terminal Reality’s FLY!, says that most of the data for air- craft performance in that sim comes from the aircraft manufac- turers and pilot training compa- nies. but that the developers look to actual pilots for much of the testing. "Of course, one of the best ways to check the data is by having your sim looked at by someone who has actually flown the plane itself. We've been care- ful to build our initial beta team from a core of real pilots, each with thousands of flight hours in everything from single-prop planes to military and commercial jets. frame large enough for the desired resolu- tion, fast and flexible storage, and enough RAM and pro- cessor to have a hyperdetailed elevation model and a city full of rendered buildings? "Today we have to carefully offer detail that can scale into future generations of hardware, but still be enjoyable for the installed base that exists,” Harvey says. "With hardware speeds accelerating at its current rate, you'll see steady Increases in detail level, many times with min- imal software modification." But even if you have the hard- ware to display this detail, the other problem is the sheer amount of storage needed to store photorealistic imagery of large areas. PRO Pilot's Adam Szofran thinks it will be some time before photorealistic imagery is possible. "We need faster machines, more storage, and bet- ter compression technology first, imagine that our goal was to cover the whole world in photo- realistic detail. There are about 150 million square kilometers of land on the surface of the earth. SURREALITY A view over the wing of a real airaaft compared to the same view from Sierra's Pro Pilot 99. P art of the immersion of a FLY's Richard Harvey says, "I flight sim is a convincing believe it’s simply a matter of environment to fly in. hardware catching up. Our 3D Witness JANE'S F-1 5, where top- engines, designed and written by notch flight modeling and sys- our president Mari< Randel, can terns simulation are matched with already handle internal color 3Db(-rendered mountains that depths of 40 bits or more. Our melt like a bad acid trip. Terrain scenery system can handle sub- graphics have gotten dramatically 1-meter data, and our models can better since the advent of 3D handle textures of any size. The cards, but they still don't come biggest problem is; Does the cus- close to the view out of a real tomer have a video card that can cockpit. So when will we get truly handle true color, with a sizeable photorealistic graphics? texture cache on-board, a z-buffer It will jome ime lefore [Adam Szofran. PRO PILOT] realistic terrain) happens ere's a table showing the numbers of pixels at various widths that would be required to cover the land areas of the earth, and how many CDs or DVDs you'd need lo store that data: To cover the land area of the earth with photorealistic textures whose pixels are one meter wide would require about 1 50 tera- pixels (that's 150,000 gigapixels or 1 50 trillion pixels!). If you reduced die resolution of the tex- tures to make them fit on a single 9GB DVD disc, your pixels would be about 128 meters wide, which wouldn't look very realistic." pixel width (meters) gigapixels 1 150.000 2 37.500 4 9.375 8 2.344 [Note: One gigapixel is one billion pixels.] COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Jr Jr /\ yv TEAM UR & "shake your boots commandos I need cover fire here heading upfield bail in hand Suiky realizes she’s target #1 commando Thorn sees his chance to be a hero "don't outrun me Sulky ire got a date with the endzone PsychoCat 'madiyiac Malcomb Tinexo Ferret killed by MadMac JimG killed by PsychoCat. Sulky recovers the ball for YOUR team! miil-tiple arenas lO man;y ways ijo play Capture the Flag the name says it: capture and hold as many flags as you can (or as long as you can minu.'te matciies ±‘as1; one way 'to wins ’tee BaseTag score points by destroying enemy base stations while defending your own & i’ience awoxk. hunt the other learn to rack up kills, then protect weakened teammates or you’ll be overrun ©1998 Mullilude, Inc. FireTeam and the FlreTeam and Multitude logos are trademarks of Multitude, Inc. Cl'' Qameware is a trademark of Andrea Electronics, Inc. All rights reserved. >\ /\ TALK IT UR ^ W V ® Vo. X XI drop an auto-turret to cover our flank” her last kill forced a fumble now PsychoCat's about to draw fire fresh from frying one Ferret MadMac takes heat for the team PibreTeam ■tbnie -team play u-p -to 12 play ears pear game online areal— -time -talli. vyi-tli yoiior -teamma-tes online ■t e am np "talli: i-t u.p oar lose Tjnie Team Flay Feal—Tlme Talli. yuviv , I'l jrete am . c om $59.95 [plus S&H] Includes FC65 Gameware™ headset and unlimited free play. Fo monthly fee. p$t9iF^^TiFe\m “pound it up the right side you ^ruys I 'm just about wasted” BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • SIMULATIONS “ I truly believe that highly realistic SimS the most difficult of all games ^ to build. ” We are using these testers to veri- fy the performance, feel, and accu- racy of not only our flight models, but aircraft systems as well." Another consideration when developing flight models is that experienced flight-sim players may have different expectations than real pilots. Harvey says, "We'll be adding sim-heavy testers later in our cycle to give us feedback on Mike McGrath, of the RED BARON 3D development team, says, "The A1 is a fair part of the 'magic' of a simulation like RB3D. It completes the immersion of the simulation by adding other active parties into the single-player game — so along with the sensory stimulation, like the visuals and sounds, it lets your imagination run away a little with the idea of existing in the game's universe — making it a more compelling and interesting place to spend time. "For an Al pilot," McGrath con- tinues, "a great deal of effort must be put into making the Al 'believe- able,' in the immersive sense, In addition to being an effective combatant, it has to make mis- takes, and it has to be vulnerable. It doesn't have a joystick, or a throttle, but it must behave as though it does." Jeremy Stone talks about the elements of COMBAT FLIGHT SIM's Al that were designed to make it feel "human" and alive. "Al pilots actually operate their controls, and the aircraft is run through a full physics simulation based on the control positions the Al pilots choose. This is a hard problem and very few products do it. The bene- fit is very realistic aircraft behav- ior, You'll also see humanlike behavior, such as minor course corrections to stay on course and drifting in formation. "Al pilots have a realistic sight- ing model," Stone adds. "There's a definite advantage to trying to sneak up on an opponent, particu- larly in the heat of combat. Factors such as target fixation are also modeled— you'll have an easier time shooting someone down if INSTANT CANYON For PRO PILOT, the Sierra team created an elevation mesh of the entire United States. The number of polygons in just this small area gives you an idea how much data is required. he is hot on the tail of his own target and distracted. The Al pilots also have a sophisticated target selection model, which leads to effects such as great-looking fur- balls and bomber attack or escort missions." Mission Critical There are dozens of other fac- tors that go into creating a flight simulation: building a graphics engine, mission creations, inter- face design, and so on. Missions are a critical aspect: Should they be scripted, branching, or part of a computer-generated dynamic cam- paign? The COMBAT FLIGHT SiM team chose scripted missions because they wanted to re-create historical missions, while the RED BARON 3D team wanted to re- create an unpredictable, dynamic war. Look for details on mission design in my column in next month's C6W. One thing that became evident during the course of researching this article is that it would be hard to cover the development of a flight sim in great detail in 200 pages, much less the limited space of this feature. So look forward to coverage of other parts of the development process in upcoming issues of COW. Denny Atkin has been writing about computer games for 12 years, and yet he's significantly younger than Johnny Wilson. He's currently fighting the Battle of Britian In COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR. the 'feel' from a sim enthusiasts standpoint, but we want to ensure the simulation is sound and solid before then." Pilot Training Once the planes are in place, you need someone to fly them. Unless you're getting in IFR prac- tice for a real pilot's license, flying around alone isn't going to be much fun. So it's up to the flight sim developers to create convinc- ing Al pilots to take the controls of enemy and allied aircraft. 3D REBUILD The long development curve of RED BARON II saw 3D cards rise in prominence before the sim's release. Adding 3D support isn't as easy as some would think— Dynamix spent nearly a year updating the sim to RED BARON 3D. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 «os o£ "°, ^l>is "SriBVwitl. a un ^ encloaed^^^ ^ a of L vo'^ ^^<3^ ve *a^ "" ofe- £ ^douqW V^3„s op, ittle basg nythina ® Pougdt - Xno« -“tepoav-®. X-e ®"t; acUod. .„„ 30. -, .1 mr f qame , of „^,TTVa' 3D0 WWW . armyraen . com blend impressive i^To^i^|tid origii^l gameplay. * . ' j; NextGeneriation www.drakan-game.com ' -y.- ORAKAH Ofdei ol ihB Flame, Psygnosis and itie Psygnosis logo are TM or ® and ©1990-8 Psygnosls lii). AIL fllGHTS RESEFWtD. The filings icon is a trademark of the Interaclive Digital Solhvate Association. Windo\';s’ is either a legislered trademark or trademark ol MIcrosolt Corporation in the United Stales andior other countries. "The flight model In DRAKAN ” on par with. If not better than any flight simulator we've seen PC Accelerator Order of Flame? A fantasy world replete with ever-present danger and the dark remnants of an ancient war. Bonded by an age-old alliance are Rynn, a quick-witted skiiiful warrior and Arokh, her powerful draconian steed. Together they i must embark on a treacherous | journey to defeat a dark piot to destroy the world of Drakan. Experience the thriil of flying through vast, breathtaking 3D worlds. Plaster 50 different hand-to-hand combat weapons employ up to seven different spells and rule the skies with five different dragon attacks. Multiplayer support for up to eight players lets you reign supreme over internet or LAN. 1 BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • SPORTS Developing a Sports Game Takes Brains, Passion — and a Healthy Dose of Masochism [by Jeff Green] "The simple truth is that obsessions just aren't funny, and that obsessives don't laugh." —Author Nick Hornby, from the book Fever Pitch, explaining why, as a boy, he had no sense ot humor about his soccer fanaticism. W hat makes some- one a great sports game developer? A knowledge and love of sports, of course, A savvy brain for computer game design. And, maybe most important of all, a serious case of masochism. Why? Because of all the computer game genres, with the possible exception of simulations, sports puts you in the unenviable position of trying to please the world's toughest cus- tomer: the know-it-all sports fan. You think we're kidding? Spend a morning listening to sports talk radio. Call up and proclaim, "Brett Favre is an overrated sissy in a weak division." See what kind of response you get. Sports, like poli- tics and religion, engenders a gut- level, intractable set of emotions, opinions, biases, and theories in those who care — and woe be to the person who messes with some- one else's sports reality. So imagine being a game developer. It's your job to create an illusion of sports reality — say, a football game — for hundreds of thousands of football fans (and gaming journalists), all of whom think they understand the game better than you do. You want your game to be as realistic as possible, but you also want it to be fun. You want it to be the most compre- hensive, definitive game ever on the sport — but your company has given you less than a year in which to make it. No wonder that the great major- ity of sports games get mediocre- to-bad reviews. No wonder that, if you judge by Usenet posts, there's never been a truly great sports game ever, No wonder that compa- ny after company thinks it's getting into the sports gaming business, only to give up some time before or after its first product is released. Even Microsoft, with all its resources, is having trouble getting sports games developed right now. How do sports developers cope with it all? We caught up with some of the biggest names in sports gaming, including the folks behind MADDEN, NASCAR RACING, and JACK NICKLAUS, to share with us the joys and headaches of their jobs, and spill some of the secrets of game design. A Never-Ending Design Process_ "It's deja vu all over again." — Yogi Berra Designing any computer game is hard work, but sports developers have a unique set of problems. For the most part, sports games aren't one-time products, but yearly ones that are constantly in development, and constantly being shoved out the door to correspond with real- life sporting seasons. Unlike a game like PREY, for example, the makers of football, baseball, bas- ketball, and hockey games have just one year to design, produce, and hone their product. They can't just finish it "when it's done." For Ric Neil, producer of EA Sports' MADDEN 99, the process is thus simultaneously fast and never-ending. "We never stop working on the game," says Neil. "In reality, as soon as we finish the current game we start working on next year's version. Because we have to get the product done every year, we do not have the luxury of starting from scratch." Think of the process, then, as less like a straight line and more like a circle — perhaps even a race track — with the game constantly spinning around, trying to stay ahead of its competitors, checking in regularly into the pit for updates, technological improvements, bug fixes, and, in some cases, wholesale rewrites. Mike Branham, director of Sierra Sports NFL FOOTBALL PRO 99, describes the process this way: "We start each version with the previous product’s design spec as an alpha spec. Then input for changes and new features get kicked around and tossed in. Then we do a time analysis on the new spec with the changes and new features. Some get killed, but for the rest, we staff the project and get to work." Working on an existing product can be seen as both an advantage (especially if the game is already a good one) and a disadvantage. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Creating J9DU9UB Hollywood-quality re-creation with an astounding -l20dB noise floor > E-mu’s most powerful audio processor with lOOO+MIPS and 8-point interpolation > Digital I/O card for easy connection to music keyboards and digital audio recorders > Environmental Audio"* — enhances all audio content from the past, present, and future > Livelware program provides updates over life of product > Hundreds of cool new and upcoming tides with EAX " support Cambridge SoundWorks" PCWorks ” FourPointSurround'" features: > Four compact satellite speakers and a powered subwoofer > Rear surround speakers can be placed anywhere with the included tripod stands and wall mounting accessories > In-line master volume control for all four satellite speakers and subwoofer > Delivers discrete 4-channel surround audio with Microsoft® DirectSound®3D and Creative’s Environmental Audio extensions"* games \ C "“C'vi. — PC (Gamef, Qctqber l?98,^ ( ; PCWorks™ (FourPdintSurround"* ( ( c ( ( c ( c ( ( the Live! experience, /dDUduaqxd aifi dA/'j CnZATIVE-Hi You^ll be glued to ge o f t he u n i v er se. .^^uckle up and brace yourself for the visual ride of your life! 3D Blaster® Banshee explodes with rocket-fast 2D performance, startling 3D frame rates, and break-neck video acceleration with an absolutely out-of-this-world price. 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BCfl ^ When you need to work with incredible precision and play games with liquid- smooth speed. Graphics Blaster® RIVATNT is what you’ve been waiting for. 3D Blaster ’ Banshee features: > Complete 2D/3D graphics solution based on the new Voodoo Banshee” chipset from 3Dfx Interactive’’ > Features a full 128-bit graphics engine and Voodoo2’“ 3D rendering technology > 16MB of SDRAM and 250MHz DAC deliver awe-inspiring resolutions, rock-solid refresh rates, and stunning visual quality > Boosts your PC’s performance and provides compatibility with the widest range of applications and games in a single, cost effective upgrade Graphics Blaster RIVATNT features: > World-class 2D/3D, and video acceleration using the RIVATNT processor from nVIDIA® > Ultra-wide, high speed 128-bit memory architecture and TwiN-Texel 3D pipeline deliver mind-numbing speed in virtually any application > 16MB l25MHz synchronous memory and a powerful 250MHz DAC provide incredibly high resolutions and refresh rates for brilliant, vivid images > Perfect platform for the power-user, gamer or graphic designer www.soundblaster.com/eKperience/ f f ( f / < / f I / f (■ f ( f f f (( t , I t ' f , ^ <((((( f i < ((<(<(( f f ( f i (((((<((<.((( (((((< f (((( ( ((((((( C (( C ( ((((((((({ (J (<<((((((( ^ (“Ajie^ m^rcile^slyfputtitig dur( I tp prices, Ye ^ EllIUS' , ( ihappily and'hettrtilyi ‘ i^ecdmtheiid it” ( t ^ ‘ , GamL-.^av l 5 i 98 VUL ( ( (3p B^astpryoo^oo2 ((( (((((.(. ( X ( ( ( ( c ( ( ( c c tX ; (( c ((((((,>, c ( ( c ( ( c ( ( c t c ^ :((((( f c c c ( ' ( ( ( ( C ( c C ( ' :((((( C/ ' ' C ( ( ( ( c : ( ( (. A c 7 . / ■■ ' ' ^ N,. 'v ^ Our ^rop'fncs^//ne-up''u£/7/zes’tbe^/joftest ''chipset available! ‘ V. 's V, \. V V V,. the Live! experience, p^uauaqxB Bip baij if' 1 ^. ' j r . r ( r I r r r r t ( C r ( I !((( f f ((( ( '!(((((((( (j <((((((((( jTjQ < t ((<((( ( fYl (!((<(((( f TT] (((((.((( (,CXX. t “Exceptioftal qifality.(. < ' picture inutility isifah, * ' ^ on h^tii^tliePc^a^ili ' ( television nmmtnrs. / | (■—( aNET.Febl-uary 1.998 ( ^ ^ S-Star 'Ga/ne'^oFth)/- R^vieW ^ ^ Encpt^e lSxr^"2^Y*S^g ( ( ( c c\ ( V'c tTTj ' ( ( ( ( f ( ( ( C (,0 ^ ( c c c c ( c XX ( ( c ( ( c c c coOu : ( C ( ( C^ omn ^ FC-DVD Encbre 5x rV U'q/ Vo. Vaich biovVes 6t hbme.- ^ ^ v. ^ ^ < V V <, V, ’^..v.V A, . heart-pounding cinematic experience is no ionger restricted to the big screen! 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All prices listed are estimated street prices anti ore siibjoct lo change willioiil notice. WWW. SOUNDBLASTER. DQM I Work <£ Learn SPORTS • BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME UNDER THE HOOD No, it's not a shot of FIFA 82. Just a "test-bed" shot from the designers of FIFA 99. Before that game you're playing gets all gussied up, it looks something like this underneath. GETTING THERE Another test-bed shot from FIFA 99, this one actually showing some rendered players and a ball. AH.THArs MORE LIKE IT A work-in- progress shot from FIFA 99, showing players' heads tilting up to watch a ball in flight because, given the time constraints, you're largely stuck with what you have. The good thing, of course, is that it gives you a base from which to start, and it allows you to keep refining your vision. Mike Franco, the executive pro- ducer of JACK NICKLAUS: GOLDEN BEAR CHALLENGE (formerly pub- lished by Accolade, now by Activision), puts it like this: "Whenever you finish a game, there is always an 'l-wish-we-had- time-to-put-X-in' lament. With a franchise like JACK NICKLAUS GOLF, those items are always the first to go into the design for the next product. Since we have a version out there that computer golfers are playing, we listen to what they like and what they wish they had." Most designers seemed to agree, however, that no matter how tight the schedule, it's crucial to always keep a fresh perspective. "It is important to start with a blank page," said MarcAubanel, producer of BA Sports' FIFA 99, "because you carry the baggage of a year’s worth of development. We start [each year) by taking a fresh look at the gaming market in gen- eral to look for trends and design improvements in other genres.” Franco agreed. "I actually think the attitude toward a sequel is between refining and starting from scratch. We can't ignore existing users, so we don't start from scratch. However, simply refining last year's product will never do in a highly competitive environment like computer golf." But no matter how lofty your goals, there Is the grim reality of the ticking clock, and the fact that missing a few weeks off the schedule probably means that your game will never ship. This is why the game the consumer ends up with usually isn't quite as ambitious, and doesn't have quite as many features, as the product first described in those glowing sneak previews written six months before the game's completion. "There are a lot of people in the process," said Sierra's Branham. "Development, art, marketing, PR, and management. Various items in the 'wish list' are more or less important to different groups, and a lot of culling and adding happen when these groups get together. In the end, the time and schedule analysis will lock the feature set." Ric Neil at EA perhaps put it best: "The programmers and artists get frustrated with us because we always want more in the game than they can do in a single year. The wish list is a constantly chang- ing document and it grows as every version ships." The Big Dilemma: Realism Versus Gameplay "My initial response was to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized that I had no character." — Charles Barkley A 350-pound lineman running like the wind for 80 yards. Greg Ostertag doing a 360-degree ^we learned the hard way that a ,gan:?e must, be and developed with multiplayer - .. in mind " "[Vance Cook. PGA CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF] BODY IN MOTION Rendering human motion accurately and believably is one of the toughest jobs of the sports game designer. Here's a shot from Sierra Sports' PGA CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF, as the team works on the motion of a female golfer. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 Introducing your new flight simulator. www.sieppaspopts.cain O IBSa Mmiar CinnM, he. PuHstwl liy SKrra Da •Urn, he.® mh) ** AotiimU tredemspkt ol ep BcHiewl lo Storra On ■ Una, he., Bilavua, IW 88007. U rtgftU ranrvnL Onlge It a reghtarad induBvk ol Chpythr Corporatloii. UM, and h nad andar Iheata. Oil GWVSUII CORPOMTHN. Go toii^02 @ www.computergaming.com/jnfolink -.r^ssr -'^n^: . fZ “• i ;‘ . BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • SPORTS GLUG GLUG Converting TROPHY BASS to a 3D engine has proved to be a tough task for Sierra Sports' fishing group. reverse jam through 4 defenders. Orel Hershiser launching a grand slam off Greg Maddux. Anyone who's ever played any sports game has experienced a moment, if not a million moments, of total disbelief. As you read this, there's a sports gamer out there right now pound- ing on his keyboard, screaming, "Yeah, right!" The most crucial design decision in any sports game is just how realistic to make the game. The big rub — the one that often trips up developers — is that the more real- istic you say your game is and the more real-life rules you say you're going to incorporate, the harder the fans are gonna treat your game if it doesn't fee/ realistic {remember Accolade's disastrous LEGENDS FOOTBALL?). If you opt for greater fantasy, as did NFL BLITZ or an arcade racer like NEED FOR SPEED, gamers will cut you much more slack, but you risk turning off the more "serious" fans of the sport. Somewhere between a hard- core simulation and a pure arcade game is where most sports devel- opers try to place their products these days. But finding that bal- ance is a very tricky business. "This is the hardest part of the job," said FIFA's Aubanel. "We are constantly weighing gameplay con- siderations against realism. We have always biased FIFA playability over realism. In fact, if you look at most sports games, the scores are unrealistically high and the physics models are all accelerated." Most sports game producers tend to agree with Aubanel that there can actually be such a thing as "too much realism." As Steve Letsom, director of Sierra Sports' fishing games put it, "Imagine yourself sitting at the computer for hours on end, not being able to catch a fish. That is like the real world, and it sucksi 1 try to make the user have fun, but be chal- lenging at the same time. It's defi- nitely a hard line to straddle." Straddling that line is where most designers expend the bulk of their conceptual energy — trying to figure out where to implement a sport's rules to the letter, and where to cut corners in order to improve gameplay. "Too much realism can cause some problems," said MADDEN's Neil. "For example, in the NFL, there are usually about one-and-a- half to three minutes in between plays as the players get back to the huddle, and back to action; it would be kinda boring if we put that in the game. We try to keep the fun factor as high as possible without losing too much realism. That is one of the things that makes MADDEN, MADDEN." Vance Cook, the designer of Sierra Sports' PGA CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF 1999 EDITION, concurs: "I think there is such a point as 'too much realism,' but it is a long ways down the line. Customers tend to look for a product that mimics real- ity. I think you take it too far when you simulate all the bad, but realis- tic, elements of a game. In golf, it would be a mistake to make you go find your ball." Again, however, the problem is that what one sports fan thinks is important may not be what anoth- er fan thinks — and this is what leads to the smashed keyboards, bad reviews, and harsh Usenet posts. It's especially true of the more hard-core sports games. As Dave Matson, dirertor of Papyrus' NASCAR RACING 1999 EDITION puts it: "For our fan base, realism is gameplay to a very large extent. Any time the gameplay on the SIMON SAYS PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN You might not actually stand this way while playing golf, but game designers need to study every aspect of their characters' physical structure and movement, as this shot from Activision's JACK NiCKLAUS: GOLDEN BEAR CHALLENGE shows. COMPUTER GAMING WOlUD » JANUARY 1999 DREAM PRODUCTS We asked each designer we interviewed to describe to us the "dream" version of their product. Here are some of the responses. NASCAR RACING "Localized track condi- tions and grip levels down do the centimeter (or finer) that are constantly changing due to rubber buildup and weather changes, and a full field of 43 cars running a dynamic Al based on the same complex physics model as the player." [Dave Matson, Product Director] MADDEN NFL "How about polygonal collision modeling (elimi- nate motion capture) so every tackle and hit is dif- ferent, or maybe a 3D- glasses version, so when you look left and right you see what a player would see. Or maybe an impact suit, so when you get hit hard, you feel it! [Ric Neil, Producer] FIFA "In a perfect world our gameplay logic would have 22 individual players 'think- ing' strategically, and we would have generated motion. This way we could control all aspects of the movement of a player in a seamless animated envi- ronment." (Marc Aubanel, Producer] TROPHY BASS "Ideally, TROPHY BASS would have the lake exactly so that when you went to the real lake, you'd recog- nize it. We'd also like it to have force-feedback fishing poles for every player." (Steve Letsom, Producer] r-J- Go high with jumps and stunts at 60 plus 3D-aecelerated frames per second, and land hard with force feed- back-enhanced collisions and combatl Race fully loaded for combat with over 10 futuristic weapons and shields. '...tlT^pst visually impi arcade combat racing j www.melbournehDuse.cQm/dethkarz Exclusively Distributed by GT Interactive mmlional. Melbourne House is a regisleted Iraderharii DeWkaa & 1998 Beam Inlemallonal. Delbkarz is a Iradenurk ol Beam ^ o! Beam Inlemalional. All rights reserved. Windows Is a leglslBred trateniark ol MIcrosoll Corporallon. Published by Melbourne House and Dlslrlbuled by GT Inleraellve wllhin Ihe United Stales, Go to #181 @ vvww.compwrgaming.com/infolink , THE PERFECT GAME because the technology issues are still very fragile and very new to the fishing group. When we tweak the engines, sometimes we break things, and then we have to find out what happened. It's a much slower process." Licensing can be another thing that bogs down the process. Gamers are increasingly dissatis- fied with a sports game that does not include real player names, real team logos, real schedules, and so on. This licensing costs a lot of money, and it also means that you have to play by the licensee's rules. Sports developers thus don't just have their bosses and the fans breathing down their necks; they have a large governing body, like the NFL or Major League Baseball, hovering over their work and making sure that they're getting everything right. "The NFL approves every version of the game as we finish them," said Ric Neil. "They could deny us approval if they want to." Licensees vary in their degree of involvement according to Mike Branham at Sierra. “Some want to be there from start to finish, with approval and veto all along the way. Others care only that the licensed logo information is cor- rectly displayed. The rest are some- where in between." Multiplayer considerations, once an afterthought are now part of the process from Day 1 with every BUILDIN^ CUT NO CORNERS Sports game designers are constantly trying to find the right balance between realism and gameplay.The folks at Papyrus Design Group lean heavily on the side of realism in games like GRAND PRiX LEGENDS, shown here. screen seems different than what they see on TV, users complain." The answer, then, is to match the game's scope to the targeted demographic. Go ahead and let the ca5 bounce off the walls in NEED FOR SPEED, but cut corners on NASCAR and prepare for an avalanche of flames. Matson again: "By and large, the difficulty and depth of the game is what gives it tremendous legs. You’d be amazed at how many NASCAR sim fanatics will only race at full 1 00 percent distances, which can be over four hours long, without a break. But, hey, that's what the real guys do every week." And for many sports gamers, being the "real guy" is the only acceptable way to play — regard- less of the sport. Perfecting the Product "Par is whatever I say it is. I've got one hole that's a par 23 and yesterday I damn near birdied the sucker." — Willie Nelson Once the developers have their fea- ture set down and have decided on the proper focus, they have to make the game, again with a host of constraints conspiring against them, especially the deadline. This is where good, existing products have the advantage. Marc Aubanel says the process of pro- ducing FIFA is much more stream- lined now, with a few seasons under the design team's belt. "We have approached the development of the game with a more sophisti- cated philosophy. We are getting much better at reusing code that should be reused. We leverage off a lot of common code that works on all three platforms [PC, N64, and PlayStation]. This allows the more than 70 people on FIFA to focus and really become specialists in their areas of responsibility." When a product makes a big technological leap — like the big switch from 2D to 3D that most sports games have gone through the past couple years — the pro- cess can bog down, as Sierra Sports' fishing group is discover- ing this year. "TROPHY BASS 3D and TROPHY MARLIN are longer projects," said Steve Letsom, "because they are 3D and ANATOMY OF A QUARTERBACK Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre goes through quKe a transformation as the artists on Sierra's FOOTBALL PRO 99 piece him together. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Valuable Coupons-For You And A Friend! It's easier than you thought to get yourself and a friend into Internet play with LinKS LS 19991 Rebate From ^ACCESS Just send in this coupon with your original receipt for Links LS '99 along with your name, full address and phone number. Send to: Access Software Inc. 4750 Wiley Post Way, Bldg. 1 Suite 200 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 One coupon per customer. Offer not valid with any other promotion. Good only on FULL version of Links LS 1999 Edition. Allow 6’6 weeks for delivery. Expires Jan. 31. 1999 Rebate From ACCESS Just send in this coupon with your original receipt for Links LS '99 along with your name, full address and phone number. Send to: Access Software Inc. 4750 Wiley Post Way, Bldg. 1 Suite 200 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 promotion. Good only on FULL version of Links LS 1 9! Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Expires Jan. 31 , 1 999 1999 «B«I_ _ ways to swing it! Four real world-class golf courses have been stunningly and accurately recreated for desktop play! Along with Pennsylvania's Latrobe Country Club (now in beautiful fall foliage), Links LS ‘99 features the birthplace of golf itself— St Andrews Links Old Course of Bonny, Scotland! Also Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, FL, and the gorgeous red cliffs of Entrada at Snow Canyon in Southern Utah. Internet play is now more exciting than ever with new "Internet Spectators" and Real- Time Voice Chat. Friends (or opponents) can watch you in action from across the internet and contribute real-time advice or criticism. IVvo New Swing Options — PowerStroke mouse swing and 3-Click mouse swing options energize game play with new challenges in addition to our original 2-click mouse swing. New Courses! (Clockwise from top) Entrada at Snow Canyon, St Andrews Links Old Course Latrobe Country Club, and Arnold Bay Hill Club and Lodge. 25 New features! New Tournament Environment immerses you in a tournament atmosphere with galleries of thousands to cheer your every every shot! Realistic details include crowds of people with noises, press cameramen, media vehicles, officials, ropes, grandstands, leaderboards, and camera towers! “Links LS....the greatest PC golf experience possible. Why pick this one? For the avid golfer in the family, Links L5 will be an instant and unkickable addiction. " — PC Games New Links LS 1999 has Here are a few: • St Andrews Links Old Course, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Latrobe C.C. and Entrada at Snow Canyon • Now with 3 swing options • NEW Tournament Mode— play in front of live galleries • NEW 3D objects for more realistic play » NEW real-time voice chat over the Internet » NEW mode of play (MOP) game designer • NEW specialty shots • NEW caddy book A new iUlode Of Play (iUlOP) Game Designer! Gives you the abiiity Links LS 1999 is compatible with over 25 expansion courses (sold separately) from Access Software to create your own games and swap them with your friends! Unlimited possibilities as you make up your own games! We've even included over 30 new MOPs to get you started in taking your game enjoyment to a higher level! Is It Real Or Is It Links LS '99? Compare the difference between the screen capture and the actual photo taken at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge. www.AccessSoftware.com Go to #079 @ www.computergaming.com/infollnk BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME • SPORTS YOUR WIRES ARE SHOWING If you don't get all the details right, the sports fanatic will know. Even the stadiums tiiemselves must be accurately rendered. Here's a work-in-progress shot from Sierra's FOOTBALL PRO 99. person we talked with — because they have to be. Those who decide to add it later usually pay a price. "In products I've been involved with in the past multiplayer has sometimes been added in after the product is pretty much done," said Mike Branham. "We all learn from our mistakes. The multiplayer option is now something that is designed in from the very start." Vance Cook agrees. "We learned the hard way that a game must be designed and developed with multiplayer in mind," Cook said. "FPS: GOLF added multiplayer capabilities much later in the development process. It was more work and less stable than PGA CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF." The end result of working with multiplayer issues from the beginning, accord- ing to Cook, is that "the develop- ment is easier, the product is bet- ter, and it is more stable." Still, it's hard not to get the feel- ing that, given everything else they have to deal with, some developers wish that multiplayer would just go away, "Multiplayer games over the Internet are dicey at best," said Steve Letsom. "This has been the largest problem for me over the last few years. You have to design a very fault-tolerant game, and be able to recover from all sorts of “For our fan base. realism is gameplay to a very large extent, m [Dave Matson. NASCAR RACING 1999 EDITION] issues. Each game has been improved, but we've got a long way to go." Getting It Out the Door "If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. ' — Vince Lombardi You read all the previews. You waited and waited. You plunked down your money. You took the game home — and within five min- utes you found two horrendous bugs. What's up with this? Did they even look at the game before they shipped it? The answer, of course, is yes — but as with everything else in sports game development, the pro- cess is fast and frenetic, and not 1 00 percent guaranteed. Different companies start testing their games at different times, but every- one we talked to agreed that QA (quality assurance) was critical to their game's ultimate success. On FIFA,Aubanel said "we have a test group of more than 30 testers. We test it from Day 1 when we start the design process. QA takes a critical role throughout development. We take beta testers' comments very seriously." TROPHY BASS had "around 100 beta testers," according to Steve Letsom, to make sure the game works properly, but "the real rea- son I like it is to verify it runs on many different configurations." It all sounds great, but the harsh reality is, it's an imperfect process. "As we get close to final," said Ric Neil, "a fix might break some- thing that has been fine for a long time, and since we are short on time it is hard to test every facet of the game." Marc Aubanel, the producer of FIFA, has a more brutally fatalistic response; "The demands put on the development community to make games that do things on the platform that were never thought possible cause a lot of engineering difficulties. Since this is not the control mechanism of a plane, no COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 lives are at stake — so we are allowed a certain amount of free- dom. On FIFA, we never feel that we have shipped with bugs that were serious and would impede anyone's enjoyment of the game." Nevertheless, designers hate, just as you do, when their games ship with bugs, and everyone con- cerned agreed that serious bugs must be addressed with a patch on the Internet now. Any bugs deemed less important can always be fixed in next year's version — a process that, as you know, begins as soon as the previous version goes out the door. End Game "It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I jusf beat people up." — Muhammad Ali Endurance, strength, conviction, and a will to succeed against impossible odds. These are the qualities found in tfte best adiletes, and they're also the ones that dis- tinguish the best sports game designers. Every force is conspired against them; their employers, their budgets, their deadlines, their fans' high expectations. This is not to say that you should feel guilty. This is not to say that you have no right to complain if that football game you just bought is an unplayable piece of crud. Go ahead and complain. Go ahead and complain even if the game is great. That's what being a sports fan is all about. We all have our opinions, and we all think we're right. Those spending their professional lives showing us their versions of the sports we love, well — they might just be the biggest loudest craziest fans of them all. Jeff Green, pathetically, is a Golden State Warriors fan. When he's not crying about that he can be found playing NEED FOR SPEED III, MIGHT AND MAGIC VI, and AGE OF EMPIRES. Gentelmen, Start Your PCs Introducing the NASCAR SPRINT. The best value in its class - from the world leader in computer racing wheels. (under $70 ) OFFICIALLY LICENSED THftVSTmaSTEIl MOTOKiFOKTi See our entire line of NASCAR* racing wheels at www.thrustmaster.com (503) 61 5-3200 ThruslMaster and SPRINT by Thruslmaster are regislered Irademarks oCniruslMastef, Inc. NASCAR* and Ifia NASCAR ntaA aie registered Irademarks o( the National AssociaUon tor Slock Car Auto Radng. Go to #102 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Free Ijiteroel Game Service 8 Gustomizable Cars with Auttieniic Damage Features 21 Real-io-lile American Track Configurations Shocking m Interactive Jm Animationsflr EVEHY ONE : J -A r M iJ tJL BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME • STRATEGY/WAR The Best of Both Worlds When a strategy game comes out, the first question asked is innovation {MYTH and TOTAL annihilation's use of 3D terrain). According to Greg Borrud, director of Pandemic Studios and designer of DARK REIGN II, the dif- ference is all in how you design a game: "Our goals are always to make a game that you can pick up and play, and DARK REIGN II will be relatively simple to under- stand. As you play a game more and more, we want to you uncover the layers of complexity that present themselves as you become a better player.” Rick Martinez, who has designed turn-based strategy/war games— PANZER GENERAL II, among others — and real-time combat simulations (PANZER COMMANDER), thinks the whole turn-based versus real-time game debate is blown out of proportion. "There are situations in which realtime works well — for instance, if you're trying to simulate WWII squad-level combat — but you could make an argument that games such as X-COM or CHAOS GATE do just as good a job. What's important is that your design approach has the proper feel — remarked, "I don't know what business Peter's in, but I'm perfectly happy to be designing games for a living. It's a pretty good life, and after you reach a certain point they feed you pretty well." The irony, of course, is that both men are right. When you consider the number of strategy/war games released each year — more in 1998 than the total number of games, of all genres, released in 1993 — you have to go the extra mile, or parsec, or real-time micrometer, to have a chance at a hit. And gaming legends are not excepted. A t the recent Milia Conference in France, game design legends Peter Molyneaux and Sid Meier — in between bouts of sampling French wine and cuisine for research purposes — each spoke at one of those you-had-to- be-somebody-to-get-standing- room-only-tickets keynotes. Molyneaux began the festivities by going on at length about the trials and tribulations of crafting a piece of interactive entertainment, complete with lots of suffering for your art and giving up years of your life. When it was Meier's turn to speak, he looked up and down the row of dignitaries and [Carl Norman, currently producing HARPOON 4} STRATEGIC MANEUVERS Making a Strategy/War Game That Isn't a CivClone & Conquer "I love the turn- based tabletop HmM is a much petter real-time game on the computer than it ever could have , been as , ., turn-based. and WARLORDS III are all, in a tech- nical sense, turn-based fantasy strategy games (and each was rated five stars by CGW). Yet these three games play quite differently from each other; they require you to master a variety of tactics to succeed, and they offer much more replayability than most of the real- time strategy clones released in the past 18 months. On the flip side, the best of the real-time strategy games have pushed the envelope further in terms of multiplay (the online and network gaming explosion gener- ated by COMMAND & CONQUER and WARCRAFT) and technical always the same: Is it turn-based or real-time? This black-and-white view totally ignores the fact that there are multiple shades of each. For instance, FANTASY GENERAL, HEROES OFMIGHTANDMAGICII, COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 STRATECY/WAR • BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME historical, sci-fi, or whatever — for re-creating the atmosphere you're striving for, and that you don’t get distracted from that focus." Even Meier has struggled with the real-time/turn-based dilemma, half-joking about how he "almost ruined CIVILIZATION." Meier had come down with a terrible case of gamelock playing Will Wright's SIMCITY. "I wanted to design the same thing, but with more compet- itive gameplay," Meier says. "Eventually, I had this game where you were managing multiple cities in a real-time environment. It was really interesting for a little while. Then you'd get stuck in one city, and by the time you got back to the strategic level, you had no idea where you were in the overall game. Once I made the CIV design turn-based, 1 was able to keep the level of detail and the depth of decision-making to where it was challenging, but still manageable enough to be fun." In trying to solve the problem of designing real-time or turn-based games, SSG's Ian Trout (CARRIERS AT WAR, WARLORDS III, REACH FOR THE STARS, and others) offers a solution — at least, one that seems to work for a small developer; "We don't like having all our eggs in one basket. And so, now that we're no longer self-publishing, we tend to develop games for a num- ber of publishers — all of which have different criteria for judging a game. As a result, even though we do mainly strategy/war games, we have enough variety in the styles of games we design to keep our publishers happy — and us interest- ed. And if we're interested, our customers will be." Everything’s Under Control In his classic work, The Complete Wargames Handbook, Jim Dunnigan — designer of more than 100 board and computer games — offers some sage advice: "The key to designing a game is thorough knowledge of all the GETTYSBURG is Std Meier's idea of what a real-time strategy game should be, complete with great multiplay and excellent tutorials. design techniques used in the past. The most common way of getting that knowledge is study- ing and playing a lot of games." While it's obvious from the num- ber of strategy/war clones that migrate quickly to the bargain bins each year that a lot of "bor- rowing" goes on, it's even more apparent that too many designers never get past reinventing the wheel. You wonder, in fact, if they ever leave their coding cube. Almost every successful strate- gy game designer I interviewed kept referring to focus: the importance of having a solid game design concept before the first line of code is written. Watching Steve Barcia work with his team at Simtex, for example, was like revisiting boardgame design sessions at Avalon Hill or SPI in years past. Engineers hashed out algorithms on paper, jotting down formulae on chalk- boards, arguing over which would work better with character design or firepower modifiers or what- not — while Barcia acted as master of ceremonies for the creative circus. "For me, as a gamer, it has to be challenging and addictive," Barcia says. "But as a programmer, I can also step in and come up with an algorithm to model whatever idea we discuss. You have to avoid the temptation to get so complicated that the user doesn't know what's going on. The gamer has to feel he's in control of the situation." Or, as Dunnigan used to say in his game-design seminars, "The game must have the illusion of movement — of something happening — even if the overall situation remains relatively at equilibrium." [Rick Martinez. PANZER GENERAL II designer] Game designers increasingly try to give more bang for the buck with more scenarios, bigger and better units, more editing tools, and optional rules out the wazoo. Who can forget Brian Reynolds' above- the-call-of-duty support of CiV II, crafting one new version of the game after another, even after he left MicroProse for Firaxis? And I can't help mentioning one of my favorites, TOTAL ANNIHILATION, which brought the concept of free downloadable add-on units and maps almost to an art form. Still, more is not always better. PEOPLE'S GENERAL, for example, has “ What’s . impotlant is that your design approach has the r proper ■ feel. and that you don't get distracted fr°ni 'ha* focus." iiv 'j'KRitnn'iNCJ G'AMjv Bvf.h Jf; Goming To JOiiixuARy J999. ResjU3Ay. WWW.CAPCOM.COM eCAPCOM CO.. LTD. 199S@ CAPCOM U.SA. INC. 1998 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RESIDENT EVIL Is3 irad«matli ot CAPCOM CO.. LTD. CAPCOM isa regislered trsdemaik ol CAPC0I.1. LTD. BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME • STRATEGY/WAR Even though Dark Reign was long in the making, you can see here that the art team had a good idea of where it was going in terms of unit design. a superior game system wrapped around mostly mediocre scenarios, a handicap that all the edit- ing functions in the world can't overcome. Sometimes, according to Carl Norman, putting the power in the gamer's hands can spring from less-than-altruistic motives: "After listening to gamers complain about different options they'd like to have seen in this game or that, we finally decided in STEEL PANTHERS II to let 'em toggle every damn thing. Of course, some guys complained anyway, but you could tell their heart wasn't in it." Time Flies When You’re Having Fun Ask a game designer about the importance of realism, especially in the context of this genre, and you might expect to hear rhapsodizing about technical brilliance, but everyone I talked with focused on gameplay and on making the game a fun and, it's hoped, replayable experi- ence. One designer who preferred to remain anonymous said, "Nothing annoys me more than a game engine masquerading as a game. There's nothing wrong with being an engineer and developing a cool technical concept, but you have to be a gamer, too — or else nobody's going to care about your game when the next cool technotoy comes out." Sid Meier, the king of playability, is almost as notorious as id Software for saying, "The game will be done when it's done." The really bizarre thing is that Meier also claims to be able to have a working prototype in just a few weeks. Then he tweaks for more than a year. Go figure. Other games come about in a far different way. "DARK REIGN had one of the most bizarre development cycles of U any project 1 have been W on," says Greg Borrud. "When we first started working on the game, our mandate was to cre- ate a fun game and have it out by Christmas. Josh and I quickly assembled a team of designers and we set down to create an RTS game. Because time was not on our side, we worked around the clock and designed the entire game — including all the features, units, story, and missions — in about two weeks. We also started work on cut-scene movies and game music. By the end of that period we took a step back and started to get real excited about the potential of the game. After about five weeks of production, we showed our first public demo at a press day that Activision held in Los Angeles. The game was received incredibly well, and we were able to get a few months' extension to make sure we could get all the cool things into the game that we had designed in these first few weeks. As the game got more recognition, we could ask for more extensions. In the end, the game took a year to make, but most of the final design elements were hatched in those first few frantic weeks of development." While wargames in particular have a small crowd of fans who crave realism above all else, most gamers I know are more interested in historical feel. It's not terribly important whether the Iron Brigade had 997 men or 1 ,007, so long as the unit plays like the Iron In 1989, All Atabek (center) discusses game design with a svelte pair: CGIV founder Russell Sipe and Johnny Wilson (right). Brigade, and not like some generic American Civil War unit. "Gamers like to think they can be Napoleon, so you let them," says CAMPAIGNS OF [Greg Borrud. 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Goto #149 @ www.computergaming.com/lnfoIlnk PrfceJ mi - 4mi, tliere:s HO E/CU5E VioE Eo t>vfV^4 01 jr^eJlneoH Vionne Hr lio|fJovyS |)o'<'in|ao\c| -ttie GHro.rc\l OusS U Go to #233 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink GAMES, BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME • ADVENTURE/ROLE-PLAYING B oth adventure games and role- playing games are essentially "gated" stories. They are like the old days at Disneyland when you needed separate tickets to ride various attractions. If you only wanted to ride the horse-drawn trolley on Main Street, you needed an "A" ticket (originally valued at approximately 10 cents), If you wanted to ride the Matterhorn, you needed an "E" ticket (orig- inally valued at approximately 75 cents). Without the ticket, you missed the attraction or had to buy supplementary tick- ets at the face value. In adventure games and role-playing games, you need "tickets" to move the stoiy fonward — to get through the "gates" the designers put up. In both types of games, the tickets to more of the story can be either crucial objects in your inventoiy (keys, clues, and "McGuffins"— the powerful or desirable objects obtained by the protagonist in successful quests) or ”must-do" activities completed (puzzles solved, rooms explored, characters met, and conversations held). In role-playing, you can add successful combat and charac- ter development to the tickets you'll need in order for your characters to get through the designer's turnstile and into more of the story, The design issues in adven- ture and role-playing games are basically the same. The problem of world creation, character creation and devel- opment, story development, and the tickets that gate the story are largely the same. Role-playing games simply use more tickets by having combat and character development to rely upon. So, we talked to four prominent role-playing design- ers, believing that their insights to RPG design would apply to both adventure and role- playing games. UNEQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Creating Worlds for Adventure/Role-Playing Games [by Johnny L . Wilson] The World and They That Dwell Therein My preconception in looking at role-playing design was that designers would begin with the universe. Yet, I quickly discovered that technological concerns and psychological concerns outweighed the creation of the game world. 2eb Cook, formerly an Advanced Dungeons S Dragons designer atTSR and now working on a secret project at Interplay, says that he'll work in any universe that sounds interesting to him. "If it isn't interest- ing to you, why would you want to design a game around it?" Since Cook was the demented mind behind TSR’s Planescape environment for AD&D COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 ADVENTURE/ROLE-PLAYINC • BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME PLOT ROAST One key to world*building is deciding the psychological effect you want to create for your gamers. PLANESCAPE: TORMENT, from Interplay, strives for an ominous, unsettling afterlife in a very hostile world. {imagine every real or imagined religion and philosophy competing on a series of planes with an eclectic mix of avatars and incar- nations from each), that philoso- phy is evident within his work. Brian Fargo, the founder and original role-playing mentor at Interplay, feels that designers are tied to the twin paradigms of medieval and science-fiction adventures. "Our industry often gets criticized for not being creative, but whenever anyone strays too far from medieval and science-fiction games, they get hammered." So, assuming that fantasy or science-fiction is a given, Fargo says that the Interplay approach is to start with the psychology of what the game is supposed to accomplish. "With STONEKEEP, for example, the origi- nal philosophy was to go back to the roots of what made role-play- ing accessible and enjoyable. As much as we object to artificiality, there's still a great deal of satis- faction in finding a +2 sword. In WASTELAND, we wanted the gamer to make decisions that didn't have black and white answers — moral dilemmas. Each case has been different." Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British, has undergone a transfor- mation in this process. As he observes, "Myfirstworks didn't have much world-scope thought in them, but I quickly arrived after two or three attempts to a process that works." Lord British complains about the ton of bad fantasy in which the climax involves the hero discovering a magical McGuffin with superpowerful characteristiG. "That," he protests, "is cheat- ing." He believes that one of the most important aspects of role- playing design is having an internal self-consistency and internal depth that will be expressed in the story- line of the universe. "If you're going to develop plot elements or characters or activities, you have to start off with the vision for the reality of the world. That's why I start off with the geographical flora and fauna as well as politiG and philosophy. When I start to tell the story of an ULTIMA, I often start by talking about the social dynamic taking place around the story along with the fundamental politics that set up the story. In my opinion, it's really hard work. The hardest place to start is doing this universe reality backdrop. It may be hardest to start, but it makes it easier to complete with high-quality results. I've seen people start off the other way and they get very quick results, but you run out of clever ideas after several situations or circumstances, and they tend to be random ideas." As a positive example. Lord British com- mended a new dungeon design- er on ULTIMA: ASCENSION named Craig Bolin. Prior to trying to do any particular dun- geon features, Bolin would write a two- page back- ground story. The richness of the approach was incredibly rewarding, according to Lord British, and it paid huge dividends in the final design, Bolin isn't unique in the industry, but he may be relatively rare in putting the background first. Jon van Caneghem believes in Clint Eastwood fashion that a man's gotta know his limitations. According to the pioneering designer of the MIGHT & MAGIC (as well as the HEROES OF MIGHT & MAGIC) series, "Technology is first— what the game can do. Once 1 know what the new engine can do, I start to flush out the game- play and what you can do in the game. From that, I build the storyline and the charaaers— what they're going to be and who they're going to be. Then, we archi- tect the overall story. It may be the opposite of what you expect, but anytime I've gone the other way, it’s never quite fit." Of course, one way to get a rich universe in a hurry is to license a well-established book, film, or paper game universe. Fargo has tried them all at Interplay. He has licensed Tolkien, William Gibson, bad movies, and AOiSD worlds over the years. He states that the writ- ing is much easier in licensed prop- erties because you already know the world and the characters. "As an industry, we haven't done a very good job of creating our own uni- verses, Someday, I'd really like us to set up bibies and universe docu- ments that enable us to do some- thing really rich like Tolkien's Middle Earth." Of course, Fargo also speaks of the limitations of using licensed properties. "The key to any enter- tainment medium is to surprise people. If the licenser is locking you down too much, you can't surprise anyone. In general, you can't be as edgy with a licensed property." in short, most adventure/roie- playing designers expect the universe to be a means to an end. They use the universe to shape the gamer's expectations of the world and their possible actions in that world. Some designers want a rich background to the world and, like PUZZLING REALITY "I think puzzles have a place and I've always liked them. We're going to put more in, but we don't like the kind where the whole screen disappears and a chess board appears. Puzzles must stay in the game engine." [Jon van Caneghem] "A puzzle can never rely on outside information. It has to be discovered within that universe. I also believe that puzzles should have more than one solution. "My main advice is to make puzzles intuitive. Listen to your testers. Designers often get so dose to their products that they think everybody is stupid. You just have to go with it." [Brian Fargo] COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 NOW! www.sierrastudios.com © 1998 Sletra OthUne, Inc.. Bellevue, WA 98007. ® and or TM designate trademarks ol^or llcertsad lol Sierra On-Line, Inc. All Righls Reserved. I-. New Quest Has Begun, R eturn to a land of intrigue and adventure. Lead your band of five characters on - a quest to recover the Tear of the Gods, a mystical relic coveted by a madman bent on spreading darkness across the land of Midkemia. From the dizzying heights of Krondor's Palace, to the haunted depths of a temple dedicated to an evil as ancient as the gods themselves, never before has an RPG given you so much of what you want. 16 -bit color with real-time lighting spells to create and adopt Tactically complex, turn-based combat www.computergamlng.com/infolink J.HE C^FFJCtAJ- SECLWEI- TO THE REST SEU-tHO RPG BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • ADVENTURE/ROLE-PLAYING ULTIMATE UNDEAD An artist adds ghoulish textures to the 3D wire-frame of a zombie for ULTIMA; ASCENSION. character of Raven, a female character who assists the avatar in the new game. "She said it was like adoies- cent boys writing about a female character.” "I didn't have to do this in the early days of ULTIMA because I was lucky enough to know people in the Society for Creative Anachronism who were the char- acters I wanted to write about. 1 already knew Dupre' and was able to write about the aspects of the reai person. My knowledge of the person served me as the backdrop. After a few years, I began to see the results of creating them by choice instead of accident." Zeb Cook sees the character design and the market as part of a continuum. "The world and the market determine the character design. If it's going to hard- core role-players. I'm gonna use numbers. If you want broad-based appeal, you have to figure a way to reduce the numbers as much as possible." Like the others. Cook sees the system as being determined by style of play. "All systems are built in order to create the style of play I want. If it's going to have a rich story and background, you want to spend big whiteboard in the conference room or JVC's office. Later, they write it down and transfer the details to spreadsheets or Word documents, Then, they erase it and go on to the next detail level. Brian Fargo agrees with van Caneghem. "I like to think about the situations I want to put the character in, and then back up from there. There are a lot of products that have all of these skills and attributes that have such a minimal effect on the uni- verse that they might as well not be there. To me, the attributes and skill sets are the means to the end, my tool for getting there. I'd rather have an RPG with four attributes used incredibly cleverly than 50 attributes not used very much at all." Lord British believes that it is necessary to do background char- acter studies of each principal character in the game. Today, he brings in professional writers to flesh out the characters and dia- logue. Raymond Benson (author of the James Bond novel Zero Minus Ten) did this in ULTIMA VII, and Kim Krizan, coauthor of the screenplay to Before Sunrise (the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy film), is doing this for ULTIMA: ASCENSION. Lord British laughs as he recalls Krizan's first observation about the VP OF GNOMES? Interplay's BALDUR'S GATE uses character studies like this portrait and description of Quayle to flesh out game designs. For example, "When asked about his past, Quayle talks for a good hour about his worship of Baravar Cloakshadow, how he is well on his way to mastering sorcery, and just generally how i he is compared to everyone else in the party." Lord British, keep striving to create richer, deeper worlds. Other design- ers develop the world merely as a stage setting. All want to immerse the gamer in the game. Know,_Thy.self To immerse the gamer in a world, however, requires a popu- lated world. To create the charac- ters for the world requires two systems — one to design the player character(s) and one to design the nonplayer characters. Naturally, the philosophies run the gamut from detail to outline in this part of the process, as well. In the world of MIGHT & MAGIC, the possibilities for attributes, skills, talents, races, and social status are all based on what they can do in the game engine. Jon van Caneghem believes that none of factors is going to make a differ- ence to the gamer unless it can be depicted onscreen. He does express one cardinal rule, though. "The (character) name has to be pro- nounceable. I have a mental block that if I can't pronounce it, i lose track of who the character is and where he/she fits." In general, the M&M teams build a map-based flowchart which shows how the characters relate to each other on the basis of their start and motiva- tion. They connect them all on a COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 ADVENTURE/ROLE-PLAYINC • BUILDING THE PERFECT GAME more time in character creation and letting gamers fiddle around with lots of attributes, skills, etc." Characters have to develop. The simple answer as to what levels, skills, knowledge increments, and promotions to give the character is: Whatever works. Fargo observes, "NEUROMANCER could only work with knowiedge additions. Password-oriented stuff and obtain- ing new software was much more interesting than level development or attribute increases." Zeb Cook agrees, but points out that it is better to let the gamer make up his/her own mind as to where the character improves. "The preferred method of character development is to go out and get some generai experience and spend it as you will, as opposed to go out to do stuff and blink, you go up a ievei." A cardinal rule for Cook is to make sure the balance is such that everyone can't be good at every- thing. "Everyone will end up being like Conan. I did the Conan role- playing game for TSR. It wasn't fun. It had an interesting character development system, but nobody wanted to play the sidekicks." Unfashionable Is What Other People Wear Another problem for both adventure and role-playing designers is how detailed to program the nonplayer characters. Lord British indicates that his philosophy on this has changed. "In the earlier days, we tried to mechanically simulate every possible reaction — getting exponen- tially harder and harder with less success. The more we tried, the more mechanical they seemed. Also, we were doing work that wouldn’t be appreciated. Now, we oniy try to simulate what is appropriate to a character. For example, a farmer by Lord British does hint, however, at the future of NPC interaction. He talks about intelligent databases and successful tests with this technology in order to suggest a strategy for having rich, intelligent NPC conversations in the future. He doesn't know when this might enter into the world of ULTIMA, but he does have his dream. Van Caneghem agrees that you shouldn't try to make the NPC sys- tems too detailed. "Since comput- ers don't do personalities and atti- tudes that well, it doesn't make sense to expect them to do what they're not good with." Hence, you see more reaction than evolution in the NPC characters in M&M. Van Caneghem even tries to keep the game's dialogue simple. "M&Mj has the one-key spew. Hit one key and he spills everything he knows. ■ The other extreme is to go through ' lots of layers. I go with the easy one as a rule because you're going t In the earlier days. we tried to mechanically simulate.eva-y possible reaction- — getting exponentially harder and harder with less success. " [Lord British, designer of the ULTIMA series and founder of Origin Systems ASCENSION ROLL'CALL At Origin, artists (ike to put character tests of the NPCs onscreen en-masse to get an idea of the quality and consistency of the artwork. to have to deal with hundreds of characters and huge dialogue trees the field is there for richness. Ail we would do today is have that farmer wave to you and make the world come to life." Lord British points out that this approach allows designers to concentrate on enriching the principal characters of the story and placing the emphasis on their char- acter development. SPRY& SPLASHY MIGHT & MAGIC VII will feature hundreds of NPCs, who will look something like this. www-sierrastudios-com Developer Solid 31) space combat game layed in real-time* It features a built-from- unlimited camera movement within a BD universe* Buti despite all the technology and innovation put in to Homeworldi our main goal was about the hype at all - it's all about the game* unbound strategic play and simply to make B j (coming soon ■"" Ih *'QV| ^ All ears h tj '■eed The Pi, “The Sain •^ekir r' ■ ^eai i Guarne.. ■ 't's '"'’■^t Kid On Y ~'°"' "^'''s ”=’= Solid Gold You'll Be On Your Knees NO HYPE IVlikey Likes It Prepare For The Ride Of Your Life Blistering Brilliance we've Got The Geme The Tid’®> If You've Go pe . d Vai' '='’“'‘' „For One^ Industry pevolution«*"’S , prom A ComP ypUi^ ye>u gnS® ^ 9 tiJJ itch :S--M — ^atGatVectFramMatr.xCo!3Csh.p vecOotProductt*trajectory, shipheading]; shotguns = TRUE; ALL GAME If Cdotprod >= triggerHappy] missileShoottship, =ase GUN^MineL tguni^ •^atG ietVi ectpr vecQ if gun, target}; ■auhcher: Sun}} •'ornivi '^'’ociu, ictt« ‘traj. ol3(sh 'Pheati '"^Siship. 'S]; CQQrd Isys). BUILDING THE PERFECT CAME • ADVENTURE/ROLE-PLAYINC that provide too many hours of digging through conversation with- out adding to play. The constant debate is realism versus fun. In real life, you could guide the gamer through the conversation, but with the computer, it's a pain." Fargo also opts for the belief that NPC programming should focus on the effect rather than try to be too elaborate. "The secret is to get NPCs to do things in the game that will cause you to remember them. So, if an NPC steals something and runs away, you'll never forget that NPC. You have to do things to people in a product that has meaning. I'd rather do four or five things really well than insert elaborate learning systems or anything else in there." Enemy Mine: Combat A1 Combat is important to the role-playing game, but rare in pure adventure games. Lord British has designed a matrix system for ULTIMA: ASCENSION that should add a terrific tactical flavor to the game, but the gamer doesn't deal with the numbers. Van Caneghem loves the details of combat and all of its permuta- tions. "For me, combat has been a critical part of role-playing in M&M because I've found that it's what the computer does best. Even when I played the paper games, combat was the most math-taxing in terms of looking at charts, rolling dice, etc. On the computer, you can take it much further than you ever could on paper. The cardinal rule is that if the gamer can't see the effect of the calculation, there is no sense going through the calcula- tion. For example, I have the random 1 -6 factor. As far as the pfayer I's concerned, it might be no different than a D6 die roll." Cook agrees to some extent, but warns against having combat cal- culations be too intricate. "Combat A( is where ali of the effort needs to be placed. How is this guy going to fight and how are his buddies going to react? ITiat's where the world comes to life. Suddenly, you're fighting a guy and he does something damn sneaky. That's If it isn’t interesting to you, why would you want to design a game around it Y” [Zeb Cook, designer ofAD&D PLANESCAPE at TSR. Inc. and Interpiay RPG guru.} when it becomes real to the player. Guys should be hiding and running away and return- ing with reinforcements." As for the actual technique in accomplishing this. Cook wants theAl to be as unscripted as possible. "Things break down very quickly if you didn't think about all the possibilities of what can happen in advance. The best combat Al considers the world-state or finite state and chooses best response from the parameters of the situation. I'm not talking about a neural network here — those big fuzzy black boxes where I can't fig- ure out what's happening. If we can just create a way for someone to yell "Help" and others to hear and come to his rescue, that would be great." A tremendous amount of effort is spent in creating combat Al in role-playing games, but van Caneghem believes it's worth the effort. "Exploration, character enhancement, and combat all form a circle that continually cycles upward. That little loop of three elements is very mentally compelling. It keeps you going: one more turn, one more map, one more creature. That's the magic that makes computer games addicting, when you connect the circle." Everybody’s Talkin' Finally, the designer must deter- mine the general ways in which the player will interact with the world. For van Caneghem, the interface considerations are the first considerations. He doesn't care about the art, font type, or menu structure in general. He just wants to make sure it's good for gameplay. "You have to make the decision as to when in the game they're going to need the informa- tion, That's why we have the hit- point and spell-point sliders at the bottom of the screen in M&MVI. You could need that info at any time. The other stuff is hidden until you want to access them. On that basis, you make the decisions about interface design." Cook agrees, "The interface is essentially the rules set for the game. Everything the gamer knows about the world is tied up in the interface. In paper games, you want clean simple rules, so the goal of the interface is to have a clean simple way of interacting with the game. The interface must be figured out right away. You can't say, 'Vi/owl This is all the stuff you're going to do in the game' and then ask, 'How are we gonna do that?' I always believe you must start by asking how the player is going to do something. Is there going to be a way for the player to do that without confusing him/her with regard to other things? Knowing what you can and can't do with your interface shapes the way you build your game, Basic game design is about finding all the limits, so you have to choose what you're gonna throw out." The World’s a Stage The goal of every gated story, of course, is to give gamers the sense of having experienced another world. More importantly, the goal of every gated story is to give gamers the sense that they have affected, changed, and transformed that other world. To succeed, there must be a credible world to change, personalities with which to interact, dynamic tension to resolve (whether by conversation or com- bat), and a story to be told. Each puzzle, encounter, conversation, discovery, or deed opens more and more of the story. Nothing happens by chance. Designers have to figure out the right places to construct the turnstiles and the right tickets to collect in order to keep us mov- ing through the story. Now that you've had a glimpse at how four prominent role-playing designers undertake that process, may it increase your chances of success. Johnny L. Wilson has been writ- ing about computer games for 1 7 years. He started playing NHL 99 upon completion of this assignment COMPUTER GAMING WORLD* JANUARY 1999 UNIVERSE • f * • • • A WHOLE NEW I^NIVERSE OE 3D foMBAT SIM MORETHAN45 t;- wimig *\ /f ■ ' '1^' '''’■ifm iiJ s SINGLE AND MULTI- H PLAYER MISSIONS ^ H - ' '■ UNPRECEDENTED FREE «. MULTIPLAYER ACTION ' -¥ 5 ^ L .tA h^.r— — — ^ ' i-- 2471 The Fire. The Cybrids turn on humanity and destroy the Age of Hope. Earthsiege begins. 2605 End of 'The Fire. 7 of Prometheus’s m uncover signs of th 'he daring destruction oon base fails to \e Dark Intellect itself. 1 2602 1 2627 Seutinel Cybertronix unveils Prometheus. A series of defeats forces Earth’s people to withdraw support for the fledgling co/o/iJt’i‘ on Luna, Mars, Venus, and outlying mining stations. The colonists Inception o/tfie C Human Empire. Petresnn I crowned Emperor. 2800 alien technology which shifts the balance of power. Rebels become a legitimate challenge to the Empire. 2652 The Empire and the Cybrids have amassed huge armadas, but no one really knows the extent of the buildup. 2826 Hostilities break out on Mars and Venus. The Emperor unleashes the Imperial Fleet to crush the rebellion. The Cybrids seize the opportunity and launch a massive invasion armada. Starswce begins. 'Clearly the frontrunner in the corning industry-wide mech war...” - OGR.com JOIN US. WWW.STARSIEGE.COM Dynamix AjfllKfiA COMPAUr © 1998 Sierra On-Llno. Inc. All tiyhls reserved. ® and TM designate tradcmarlis i Go to #174 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Meta-jumpgate discovered to be part of a network of interstellar gates. The Diaspora begins. Humanity begins to spread throughout the galaxy. "Those Who Jumped," the first people travelling through the jumpgate, forsake the security of the Great Human Empire to journey into the unknown. A powerful force of Imperial Knights, the Blood Eagle, appear in tribe space to subdue the Children of the Phoenix for the Great Human Empire. The conflict fractures the Children, as groups break away to form new tribes. This event becomes known as The Splintering. uiOTMi FIRST-PE RSDNM warfare! EB32 I 34DD 3350 ' Starsiege ends. Settlers refer to themselves as a "tribe',' the Children of the Phoenix. They claim to follow the teachings of the renowned warrior Harabec Weathers, hero of the Cybrid Wars. 345D 3455 The Starwolf tribe forms, supposedly founded by renegades from the Children of thf> Phnp.niy anH RInnii Panin *■ ■■■ Tribal culture is now in a perpetual state of war. The Blood Eagle, far from their homes for decades, have come to consider themselves a "tribe." Finding HEHCs impossible to maintain, they adopt the flexible armors used by the many tribes. Blood Eagle forces prevail in the Hepta Ourubis system following use ofecocidal weapons. Starwol losses are high. 353D 3340 Dynamix AJillllKX COMPAnr Out of nowhere comes a game that threatens to surpass both Quake II and Unreal for multiplayer supremacy." JOIN US. WWW.STARSIEGE.COM t998Si«rra On-Line. Inc. All riahisiesefved.®andTMf^r,^esjndd!sri!!ces. 1 1 ’t’ iontro! r.hee!esie.its. From ro/c to mjn-ejtrn^ .Vt’jr j nvjrny. ij.i’ejd tie wn-et efiutere to help yov h'LV iojnfs of foUowetf ,ind contto! tie oor/d. ©lW8Biillfeii!PnxK».-ii.wIaJ. I\^)ukiu>.niillfc>c:-inJilii:lkjllln«k»iiiifir,i.k'in.Asitn.xi'".'a\! ir.kkin,iiksiiKk'ariiiik;AiisiiritswhiilU-..'V'ii.,\J'iil»i.h.im'sintlii;Urii«xl/or.'ilKTi'.xiiUMi,'>, AH tii.'litN i..'x'r\vit. Ikillfruj isiBi Hlocmmic Ans timii-.itiy. POPVLOVS The BEGinninG AvkhMenow! Pin'nlojJthdemo-il tfiftf.popeloes.net lOiWs Full Throttle Performance Benchmarks Aberdeen Inverness D49G Alienware Majestic Binaty Compaq Presario 5600 Dell Dimension XPS R450 Falcon Northwest MadiV Gateway G450XL IDOT Pro 6amer2 Micron Millennia Alienware Hangar 18 Dell Dimension XPS400 Gateway G6-350 Aberdeen Inverness D49G Alienware Majestic Binary Compaq Presario 5600 Dell Dimension XPS R450 Falcon Northwest MachV Gateway G450XL IDOT Pro Gamer2 Micron Millennia Alienware Hangar 18 Dell Dimension XPS400 Gateway G6-350 Hard Disk CPU32 FPUMark CD-ROM ^2H ■;iai»;^ ESDII^ NA = Secondary 3D Not Present DNR = DidNot Run How We Tested T esting a raft of PCs is a real challenge, but this year we have a great suite of tests that really exercise the systems, Our lead test suite is Computer Gaming World's own 3D GameGauge, which tests 3D game performance using a variety of real games. Also debuting in this issue are the 1 999 editions of Ziff-Davis' synthetic benchmarks. Leading the pack is the heavily revamped 3D WinBench 99, which now adds full support for DirectX6, including multitexturing. There are a number of new scenes that are more repre- sentative of 3D gameplay as well. Also new is WinBench 99, which we use to test standard Windows performance, disk performance, and raw CPU performance, WinBench 99 now splits out the CD tests to a new CD WinBench 99, which now plays back actual CD accesses from real applications, including QUAKE II, and is a more robust test of CD-ROM performance. We ran 3D GameGauge at 800x600x1 6-bit color and 3D WinBench 99 at 1024x768x16, triple-buffered. Triple buffering removes some of the concerns of past versions by allowing a score to be collected that A COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Acompulergaming.coni Full Throttle ■A 3D GameGauge: Primary Score (2D/3D Card) Aberdeen Inverness D49G Alienware Majestic Binary Compaq Presario 5600 Dell Dimension XPS R450 Falcon Northwest MachV Gateway G450XL IDOT Pro Gamer2 Micron Millennia Alienware Hangar 18 Dell Dimension XPS400 Gateway G6-350 (IS W2 - -77,3 77,8 614 m •78,2 44,5 75.5 246.3 469.4 477.8 477.1 446.4 463.9 193.1 478.6 400.9 446.6 181.4 3D GameGauge: Secondary Score (3Dfx Voodoo^ Card) Aberdeen Inverness D49G Alienware Majestic Binary Compaq Presario 5600 Deli Dimension XPS R450 Falcon Northwest Mach V Gateway G450XI IDOT Pro Gamer2 Micron Millennia Alienware Hangar 18 Dell Dimension XPS400 Gateway G6-350 688.2 671.0 N/A N/A 675.8 N/A 360.7 N/A 383.5 N/A 381.1 NA = Secondary 3D Not Present includes the performance of the memory-buffer flip. Note that single Voodoo^ cards cannot run 3D WinBench 99's default resolution, though SLI configurations can. However, Voodoo^ SLI wouldn't run in triple-buffer mode due to driver constraints, so we had to run the SLI cards in double-buffer mode. We've been told by 3Dfx that the DirectXe drivers for Voodoo^ will support triple buffering. If the pri- mary card could support it, we also ran Rage Software's INCOMING at 1024x768, true color {24-or-32 bit color) as a "Fill-Rate Torture Test," We ran at this resolution to pound on the 3D accelerators, and to simulate settings that 1999 3D titles will most likely be using. We tested 2D graphics performance by running WinBench 99's busi- ness graphics WinMark at 1 024x768x32-bit color {24-bit color if the card didn't support 32-bit color). Disk performance was tested using the Business Disk WinMark, while CD-ROM and DVD performance testing was conduaed with the CD WinBench 99. Audio testing was done by running a variety of music and game audio through the audio subsystem. Finally, we ran the movie Contact and the DVD version of JOURNEYMAN PROJECT 3 to see how well the DVD players fared. www.computefgaming.com COMPUTER GAMING WORLD* JANUARY 1999 Full Throttle makes accessibility more difficult than other units, but this unit's innards have a cleaner, more stan- dard layout, and the only mother- board-down component is the Presario's ESS Maestro2 PCI audio chip. And unlike Presarios past, this unit has leading-edge graph- Compaq Presario 5600 ★ ★ ★ ★ D espite being the worldwide number one PC maker, Compaq hasn't paid much atten- tion to gamers — although with its latest Presario 5600, that may be changing. Because it wants to achieve a unique look to its boxes, Compaq is in the bad habit of over-engineering them, which for a gamer can cause headaches rang- ing from annoying to show-stopping. There have been reports of users being unable to get certain upgrade graphics boards to run in Compaqs, and in some of its boxes, Compaq has put the AGP accelerator down on the motherboard with- out an AGP slot, allowing for no upgrade at all. It would seem as though Compaq has been listening. Its latest high-end offering still sports a case with that unique look, which design blunder is that Compaq's case still uses Torx screws, which require you to use a special screw- driver to remove them. Is Phillips- head really so bad? The news does get better once you get inside the box, though, since Compaq has done away with its dreaded mezzanine bus configuration wherein all expansion cards live on this board. Its removal was annoying at best, and a knuckle- buster at worst The Compaq motherboard's layout Is actually pretty clean, with a RIVATNT- based Diamond Viper 550 adorning the AGP slot, and ESS' Maestro2 PCI audio accelerator down on the motherboard. This time around, Compaq's BIOS allows for a few more tweaks than in past boxes, but it's still pretty rudimentary. This Presario’s perfor- mance is actually pretty impressive, placing in the middle across most ZD Benchmarks, the two exceptions being \A/inBench 99's CPU bench- marks, in which it was about the slowest unit tested. However, it was near the top of the class run- ning 3D GameGauge, thanks by and large to its RIVATNT-powered graphics card. Its Maestro2 audio chip can accelerate Aureal's A3D API, and we encountered no com- patibility glitches during testing. Compaq certainly deserves the award for most improved gaming box, but this Presario doesn't ship with game controllers, nor does it include a Voodoo^ board. With the addition of these items and a competent mouse, Compaq may well have a winner on its hands. Compaq Presario 5600. $2. 799. Compaq, Houston. TX. (800) 888-0220. www.compaq.com PROS: 3D GameGauge perfor- mance; cleaner motherboard layout; front-mounted USB/1394 ports. CONS: Case innards hard to access; doesn't include game controllers. to have front-mounted USB ports as well as a single 1394 connector placed behind a flip-up cover. This is a great design idea, though it's not quite completely thought through. Because of the box's mini- tower shape, it'll most likely live on the floor, but these front-mounted ports are toward the bottom of the front-panel (hence, near the floor), and aren't as easy to access as they could be. Other lowlights include what is, hands down, the worst mouse to arrive with any box in this roundup. Compaq seems to want every piece of hardware — from mother- board to mouse — to be Compaq's own. Not necessarily a bad idea, but since there are so many good mice on the market now. it seems silly to cling to this notion, espe- cially when the mouse design it's still using is kludgey and hopeless- ly outdated. Another bothersome ics in the form of a RIVATNT- based AGP board, which, coupled with 128IVIB of RAM and a Pentium ll/450MHz CPU, makes for impressive overall gaming per- formance. This Compaq unit is unique in several features; It's the only rig in the roundup to feature a 1394 (FireWire) controller, and it's the only one Speed f Sr fe^Sy CPU Pentium W450MHZ RAM 128MB Motherboard Compaq BIOS Compaq 2D graphics Diamond Viper 550 Graphics RAM 16MB 3D graphics -WZ-A Monitor Compaq 19-inch with speakers Hard drive IBM Deskstar 14GB CD-ROM N/A DVD-ROM Compaq DVD 2500 Removable storage N/A Primary audio ESS Maestro-2 (motherboard-down) Secondary audio N/A Speakers JBI (monitor-mounted) Game controller 1 N/A Game controller 2 N/A Keyboard Compaq Mouse .Compaq Modem HCF(PCI56k) Misc. Ethernet 1394; front-mounted ports A COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 ^.computergaming.com Full Throttle Dell Dimension XPS R450 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ n a recent meeting with some of the Dell crew, we told them, "Don't take this the wrong way. but one of the best things you do for gamers is that you don't get in the way." In fact, that's one of most remarkable things about Dell's machines is that they are such clean implementations, that what they may lack in flash, they make up for in solid performance and easy upgradabiiity. The new Dimension R450 is no exception, This box arrived ready to rumble, never hiccuped during testing, and performed well. The R450 features a sculpted case that's easily accessed by removing a single thumb-screw. Once inside, all the important plumbing is easy to get to, and the unit's Phoenix BIOS allows for basic system tweaking. This is a well-designed case, be it ever so plain. Other noteworthy compo- nents are STB's RIVA TNT-based Velocity 4400 graphics board, an internal EIDE Iomega Zip drive, and Turtle Beach's PCI Montego II sound card, based on Aureal Semiconductor's VortexZ chip (which means that A3D support is present and accounted for). Dell uses Altec-Lansing's ADA-70 speakers, which are adequate, but not outstanding. In terms of performance, the Dimension was solid across the board. In ZD benchmark testing, the Dell rig fared pretty well. The one notable score is its Business Disk WinMark score, which is unusually high for an EIDE drive. This is a result of Dell's disk- controller driver, which locks down a large chunk of system memory to use as a disk cache during testing. However, when a game's running, this amount of memory for disk caching wouldn't be avail- able, so actual disk performance will most likely be less than this score would indicate. This isn't cheating per se. but it does skirt the line, Dell's CPU scores were toward the bottom of the pack — though you'd never know it to look at its 3D GameGauge score, which was just about top of the class. We saw no image quality problems during testing, and STB's control panel for Direct3D and OpenGL settings allows for some handy tweaks, though you first have to enable the extra settings by editing a registry key. All told, Dell brings a lot together, though a Voodoo^ board and game controllers of any stripe are missing (both are available for custom ordering via Dell's online store). That aside, Dell delivers a great baseline box that you can customize to your liking. Dell Dimension XPS R450. $2,499. Dell Computer. Pound Rock, TX. (800) 999-3355. www.dell.com PROS: Solid performer; dean implementation; no hiccups. CONS: Kind of plain-jane; lacks game controllers or Voodoo^ board. Speeds & feedsj CPU RAM BIOS 2D graphics Graphics RAM 3D graphics Monitor STB RIVA TNT .Dell 19-inch (Trinitron) CD-ROM DVD-ROM Removable storage Primary audio Secondary audio Speakers Game controller Toshiba SD-M1202 EIDE Zip TBS Montego II N/A . Altec-Lansing ADA-70 Keyboard Mouse .Dell Standard 101-key . .Logitech MouseMan-t- Misc. v.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 cFlusion Accelerate your world, Enter the Monster Fusion zioo s wee pst a ke s a t ^ h 1 1 p ; / / w w w. d i a m o n d m m .co m / m o nste r f u s io n ■ Mr mirnri ID 199S Diamond Multimedia Systems, Int All rights reserved. Diamond and the Diamond logo are registered trademarks of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Monster blistering 2D and 3D acceleration battlefields. It rips through the most extreme 2D action KjVinaows'TOJ on one graphics card? Pick up Diamond’s at resolutions up to 1920 x 1440. It delivers smoother, new Monster Fusion. It’s the first card to fuse the faster 3D images at 60 frames per second. In fact, blinding speed of 128-bit 2D graphics with intense it even tools your system for faster performance Voodoo 3D gaming power. By harnessing the powerful in other applications. Plus, it includes an explosive new 3Dfi^oodoo'“Banshee technology. Monster Fusion software bundle featuring the latest in 3D gaming, delivers the speed you need to survive on today’s So nuke that slow PC. Pick up some Fusion today. ^Fold These Pages! To find out how we combinedaDgraphics and 3D gaming on > a single card, \ \ bring the (wo edges of this ^ ad together iP dotted lines meetoneanother. a trademark of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Incorporated, esso Junction Avenue, San lose, CA 95134. All other trademarks are the property of their respective ovrrners. Go to #208 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Full Throttle Falcon Northwest Mach V ★ ★ ★ A A F alcon Northwest is probably the granddaddy of all the bou- tique PC companies. It was the first to offer complete systems tuned to the needs of PC gamers, and every year it seems to get a little better. Falcon Northwest consistently scores well in UGM year after year, and this year is no exception. It's not just the benchmarks, either, In fact, Falcon Northwest placed sec- ond overall in 3D GameGauge scores, edged out only by the Aberdeen rig. Of all the "gamer" rigs we tested, the Falcon Northwest system gave us the least trouble. The only real issue we had was carving up the speaker cable for the over-the-top audio system Falcon sent us. But the company supplied us with a reel of premium speaker wire and a wire stripping tool, a testament to the level of detail demonstrated by the Falcon Northwest crew. The Falcon rig posted stellar mass storage benchmarks across the board, aided by the capabili- ties of the Ultra2 SCSI controller built onto the ASUS motherboard. The Falcon system also posted the highest 3D WinBench 99 scores we've seen. Falcon Northwest also wins the "out-of-the-box" award. After unpacking it and plugging it in, it ran without a hitch. All the DOS drivers were there, DirectXB was up and running, and we had no serious crashes during all our test- ing. About the only odd configura- tion item was the USB version of the CH FI 6 Combatstick. I men- tion this only in irony, as Falcon Northwest supplied a dedicated CH dual port gamecard along with the game port on the Diamond Monster Sound MX200. About the only thing they left out was a DVD drive and hardware decoder. The MachV uses Falcon Northwest's standard midtower case, is quite easy to work inside, and comes configured with two additional cooling fans. It's a good thing, since the Obsidian X-24 can run pretty hot. In addition, Falcon overclocks the system bus slightly, running it at 103MHz instead of 1 0OMHz. Still, we noticed no sta- bility problems during testing. As a final note, Falcon North- west definitely wins the eviction notice award. The AR Cutting Edge is a full Dolby Prologic setup. complete with 200 watts-per- channel amplifier. Since it requires a TV display in order for you to configure it, the Mach V comes with a TV tuner card. The speakers not only sounded clean but easily rocked the rafters with a variety of musical and game material. The bottom line is that every- thing about the Falcon Northwest Mach V works. Despite the com- plexity of Voodoo^ SLl, the Cutting Edge speaker setup, and Ultra2 SCSI, the Falcon system just goes and goes. And the performance is no slouch, either. Falcon Northwest Mach V. $5,999. Falcon Northwest, Coos Bay, OR. (888)325-2661 www. falcon-nw.com PROS: It's fast, it works out of the box. and it's stable. CONS: AR speaker system a nuisance to set up. Speeds & feei^sj CPU Pentium 11/450 (clocked at 464MHz) RAM 128MB Motheihoard ^us P2B-S BIOS Award 4.51PC 2D graphics STB Velocity 4400 Graphics RAM 16MB 3D graphics Obsidian X-24 Monitor ViewSonic MB1 IS 21 -inch Hard drive Seagate Cheetah 9lp CD-ROM Plextor Ultraplex DVD-ROM W/4 Removable storage £IOE Zip Primary audio Diamond Monster Sound MX200 Secondary audio W/A Speakers Advent Edge Prologic System Game controller 1 Jane’s F16 Combat Stick USB Game controller 2 W/4 Keyboard Microsoft Natural Elite Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Modem Optional Misc. -I^f^ EX. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 .i.compLJtergaming.c Full Throttle Speeds Cr Jreedsj CPU RAM Motherboard BIOS 2D graphics Graphics RAM Monitor Hard drive CD-ROM 14.4GB ATA-33 hard-drive DVD-ROM Removable storage Primary audio Toshiba SD-M1202 ■DOT Pro GamerZ ★ ★AAA I DOT has made a splash in the direct sales scene by positioning itself as the first " Internet-only PC company." Despite this hype, you can order over the phone. Despite its moniker, the Pro Gamer2 is a mainstream system with a single Voodoo^ card thrown in for gamers. The Altec-Lansing speakers are a cut above most mainstream systems, but the rest of the system is pretty unremarkable. The Intel i740-based primary graphics card posted some of the lowest scores in the roundup, conceding last place only in 3D GameGauge and 3D WinBench 99 to the RIVA 128zx on the much slower 350MHz Gateway Bang for the Buck system. The Best Data Voodoo^ card also posted the low- est secondary card 3D GameGauge scores as well, again trailing the Gateway's Voodoo^ scores. We had to check twice to make sure there was a 450MHz CPU in the box. The Pro Gamer2 comes in a fairly typical mid-tower case that's slightly bigger than the Dell XPS tower. In many ways the IDOT sys- tem feels like a classic "screwdriver shop" system. It's built from a rea- sonable laundry list of components, but little effort has been made in integrating the parts into a whole system, For example, despite the presence of the IBM Deskstar 14GB hard drive, the IDOT posted one of the lower Business Disk WinMark scores in the roundup. Another example is the presence of the Altec Lansing speakers that come with very handy USB controls. But when we booted the IDOT system, the USB speakers' driver wasn't properly installed, so we got the dreaded "yellow circle" in Device Manager. DirectX6 was also MIA. A knowledgeable user could get everything up and running over time, but we have to question whether it's worth the effort. Secondary audio /V/4 Speakers Altec Lansing ACS-49S Game controller 1 i\i/A Game controller 2 n/A Keyboard Micron Standard 101 Mouse Microsoft with wheel Modem USRSBKWin Internal IDOT needs to go back to the drawing board and do a better job of understanding gamers' needs and the performance requirements to compete against the big boys. IDOT Pro GamerZ. $3,499. IDOT, Austin, TX. (888)388-4368. www.idot.com PROS: Good speakers, decent audio, no serious glitches. CONS: Slow; not well tuned; mediocre primary graphics. build^attiePC ^ here! Voodoo Banshee Riva TNT Soimd Blaster Live! 3Dfx Voodoo2 IZmb ^»^WWw:4gaTnersx6i^-^ Unlimited choice of hardware & softwares ■ — * GO TO #069 @ www.computer6aming.cojp/infolink ' '' .^CopimgW.imSThoughiOuildlnc.AIlfighlSfesefved.Omeriraaeniarksafepropeniesottheirrespectiveowneis migp .V^VJVVCl^ I f icti ^ VJ mate race rally • anachronox • fifa 99 rsiege tribes • daikatana • madden nfl 99 • trespasser • simcity 3000 • al * inters om: alliance i< vengeance ic II /na rzone rbird mac she. tirr\ pr ill • A|h ■sM^ulous; charn pnp j ‘^recoil • Lrl^TOjPl li*her • drakan • prlnce-^^ jjj^iTTie cities • interstat. ^a^ed reality • star^^ o . .Ui 4 -/-\ * /- 1 —'j -N. ^ JS~e rgasrrt ear ivy ad reality • stars^ • sim h( dkVii'uitl rifice • warbirc/s * UDrCll ' dirk vengeance spasser • anachronox • x-com alliance • ine! rsiege • virtua rally • drakan • might & magii^ )od 2: the chosen • shogo: mobile armor div| 99 • recoil * nnadden powe^. ikan • powe^, ww'w.sauN^LASTER’^coM f~tua comrni )c 2 • hostile Waters • might-^ magic VII • Its a dark cave. Inside your head, you hear your heart pounding. Damp echoes resonate from the slow drip of water. A low rumble. Click — a gun is being cocked to your right. You spin. You duck. You freeze in fear. Bullets tear past you and ricochet from every angle. You can’t see her, but you know exactly where she is. Great games deserve great audio. Look for this logo or visit WWW. env-audio. comi listen! So real it has to be live! <'i) \ifi (njiiir IcduKilaf;)' Environmental Audio" by CREATIVE" Co to #154 © www.computergaming. nd llif CfHiiH logo Iff it|iiiftfd (mJcnutki. Jiid Eirriionnifnul loiJn ii ;i iiadjuurk ol (rfjiirc JedincJofj i.com/mroiinK I liidciniilik Jio Ifto piojittl}' of ihrir rripcciiir ID siipporl En>iionni(ntil Audio I 7 »ilg 1999. Full Throttle Micron Millennia ★ ★ ★ ★ A M icron is a company that’s flirt- ed with doing serious gaming boxes before. Its original Fusion 3D package featured a 3Dfx Voodoo- based board, along with basic game controllers. But the company hasn't quite gotten the message across about its offerings to gamers. And with the arrival of nVidia's RIVATNT chip (which finds a home in this Millennia), putting in a 3Dfx board has become less of an imperative, and is now more important for Glide support. Still, Micron produces a box with a sim- ple, clean implementation that doesn't get in the way of whatever else you want to put in it. The rig features strong components, including Diamond's Viper 550 graphics card, an Intel mother- board, and 1 28MB of memory. In some ways, this box and the Dell Dimension are becoming indis- tinguishable: They both use the same case, the same CPU, the same graphics board, and the same keyboard. But Micron uses different audio components, including the Sound Blaster PC1 128 and, more notably, Monsoon Multimedia's new MM-1000 magnetic planar speakers. For gamers, these choices present a curious trade-off. On the one hand, you've got a sound card that won't support A3D, and only has limited support for Creative's own EAX 3D audio standard. But this sound card talks to a good- sounding pair of speakers that can render two-speaker 3D audio very well. Because Micron and Dell have found the same case maker, both systems' innards are easily accessed, and because they use the same motherboard, system compo- nents are well laid out and easily reached. The case has a pop-off panel that hides the system’s internal EIDE Zip drive, and once you pop the case open, you’ll probably never put it back on. Both systems use Intel's standard Phoenix BIOS, which allows for basic system tweaks, but which lacks the detailed settings of an Award BIOS. Staying true to form, the Micron performs well in most of our tests, with the one exception of its slow Business Disk WinMark score, which was the slowest of the lot. But Micron turned in the fastest 3D GameGauge score by a nose, just edging out Compaq and Dell. The Micron fired right up and gave us no headaches during testing. For gamers. Micron’s Sound Blaster 1 28 gives it something of a disadvantage when compared to Dell, which uses Turtle Beach's VortexZ-based Montego II card. If you changed the sound card, say, to a Vortex2-based board or Creative’s Sound Blaster Live!, the choice between the Millennia and the Dell Dimension would become almost a coin toss (although the Dell Millennia is cheaper). Micron Millennia. S3, 049. Micron, Nampa, ID. (800) 209-9686. www.micronpc. com PROS: Excellent 3D GameGauge performance; clean design; easy access. CONS: Sound Blaster 128; no Voodoo^ ; no bundled game controllers. speeds & SMB 3D graphics Monitor Digital Research 21-inch Hard drive N/A DVD-ROM Toshiba SD-M1202 Primary audio Aztech PCI-338 A3D Speakers Mouse Microsoft with Wheel 56.6 COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 /.computergaming. com Full Throttle Gateway G450XL \ Speeds & feeds'^ 'k ik -k M -A G ateway has long been the supplier of value PCs direct to the customer. The G450XL continues that tradition, offering a Pentium II Xeon system for home users. You would think that a system using Intel's high-end CPU. the 450MHz Xeon, would outpace the other systems. You would be wrong. The key dif- ference between the Xeon and the standard Pentium II is that the Xeon's Level 2 (L2) cache runs at full clock speed (450MHz), whereas the Pentium ll's L2 cache runs at half speed {225MHz). The Gateway actually placed third in 3D GameGauge testing. The Dell system, with the identical video card, but a "mere" Pentium II, ran a tad faster, and even the more limited Compaq fared better. It's true that the raw CPUMark 32 score was some- what higher, but it's also true that raw CPU performance doesn't always mean higher frame-rates. The Gateway was an odd mix of high-end and low-ball parts. The huge Xeon CPU, plus the big cooling duct, took up a vast amount of room inside the spacious full tower case. The Velocity 4400's 2D and 3D perfor- mance kept up with the other system's graphics performance. But the AudioPCI sound chip is a mediocre one, though the Boston Acoustics speakers are top-notch. The lack of a Voodoo^ card was an odd omission for something that's ostensibly a high-end gamer's rig. Even Gateway's budget system had Voodoo^ on board. Still, the Velocity 4400 should do quite well for all but Glide-only titles. The G450XL is well positioned for future expansion. There are two free PCI slots, room for memory expansion, and several free drive bays. In addi- tion, the beefy power supply should provide ample power for even Voodoo^ SLI should you want to add it. It's easy to work inside the case, even with the gigantic Slot 2 CPU installed. The BIOS is a typical Phoenix BIOS, which means you really can't tweak it much. if you have a solid reason to have a Xeon-based system, such as computer-aided design work or manipulating big databases— but want to do some gaming on the side, the G450XL might be a good CPU Pentium II Xeon/450MHz W/S12KB L2 cache ram 128MB Motherboard Intel Spearfish BIOS Phoenix 2D graphics STB Velocity 128 Graphics RAM 16MB 3D graphics Monitor Gateway 19-inch VX900 Hard drive .IBM Deskstar 14GB CD-ROM Philips CDD3610 CD/RW DVD-ROM Toshiba SD-M1202 Removable j\i/a Primary audio Sound Blaster Audio PCI Secondary audio M/A Speakers Boston Acoustics Digital Mediatheater Game controller 1 M/A Game controller 2 M/A Keyboard Gateway Smart Keyboard Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Modem Telepath 56.6 Misc. m/a bet. But don't get Xeon just for gaming; it won't give you any added punch in game performance. Gateway G450XL $3, 700. Gateway Computeis, North Souix City, SD. (800) 846-4208. www.gateway.com PROS: Fast; reasonably stable. CONS: Mediocre audio; no Voodoo^; Xeon no real benefit for gaming. I'.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD JANUARY 1999 Full Throttle L et's face it, there are a lot of us who'd love to drive a Ferarri, but we wind up making our peace with driving a Ford. Usually, a gaming system with a $6,000 price tag and an intact marriage are mutually exclusive. This year the news on the Bang for the Buck front is very good, indeed. Instead of that "Ford" gaming rig being an Escort, it's a Mustang. Thanks to cheaper memory and CPU prices, we have low- ered the price limit on these systems from $2,500 to $2,000 and still, the slowest CPU was a Pentium ll/350MHz, which ain't too shabby, But the real stand-out here was Dell, whose Pentium ll/400MHz with a 16MB STB RIVATNT board took top honors, and even nipped at the heels of the big boys. These boxes do cut a few corners, such as smaller monitors, less memory (64MB in lieu of 128MB), or smaller hard drives. The bottom line is that you can get yourself a very competent gaming box — minus some amenities— that won't leave you wearing a barrel. Alienware Hangar 18 -k-k-A-k-k I n contrast to their well-hung Majestic Binary, Alienware's Hangar 1 8 offers good value at a reasonable price. If it weren't for the headaches we encountered trying the get the S3 Savage3D-based primary graphics card to work, we'd have liked the Hangar 18 a lot better. On paper, the Hangar 18 seems like a great system: It has a reasonably fast CPU, leading- edge primary graphics, Voodoo^ and a compelling audio solution. But the Hercules Terminator Beast AGP graphics card, which uses S3's Savage3D accelerator chip, proved to be an enormous headache. One set of drivers wouldn't run the benchmarks. The next set ran the benchmarks, but wouldn't run the games. The set after that crashed the benchmarks again. We finally got it to run, but even then, we saw dropped trian- gles in 3D WinBench 99. All in all, it's not an auspicious start for a system. The rest of the system seems pretty solid. The Hercules Stingray/2 Voodoo^ card fared better, posting the highest score for a single Voodoo^ of all the systems in 3D GameGauge. The Elan Vital T1 0-AB case has been modified with an additional cooling fan to keep the system humming along. As an aside, this is a great case that's very easy to get inside when you want to add new peripherals. The audio is certainly among the best of the low-end boxes: Cambridge's four-speaker PC Works setup ties in perfectly with the Sound Blaster Live card. The hard drive and CD-ROM seem a little light next to the 12GB/DVD equipped Dell sys- tem, though. But then, tradeoffs are what it's all about in a $2,000 computer, and Alien- ware's set of choices seems pretty reasonable — except for its primary graphics card. In fact, I'd say that the choice of primary graphics is what really hurt the Hangar 1 8's scores. On the surface, the Savage3D seems to be a fast 3D performer. (Its 2D performance is lacking, however.) We had so many headaches try- ing to get the Beast — an apt name if there ever was one — running, that we suggest Alienware find another primary card. Only then would this be a compelling system. Alienware Hangar 18. S 1,999. Alienware, Miami, Ft. (800) 494-3382. www. alienware-pc.com PROS: Strong audio, Voodoo^. CONS: Poor primary graphics; modest mass storage. CPU .Pentium ll/350MHz RAM 64MB Motherboard Soyo BIOS Award 2D graphics Hercules Terminator Beast Graphics RAM .8MB 3D graphics Hercules Stingray/2 Monitor Nokia 17-indi Hard drive EIDE6.SGB CD-ROM Toshiba 6302-B CD-ROM DVD-ROM N/A Removable storage N/A Primary audio SB Live Value Secondary audio W/A Speakers Cambridge 4-channel PC Works Game controller 1 MS Sidewinder Gamepad Game controller 2 MS Sidewinder Joystick Keyboard IBM Standard 101-key Mouse MS Mouse w/Wheel Modem USR Sportster 56K Internal Wjik COMPUTER GAMING WORLD .JANUARY 1999 ;.computergaming-c JU S T DON ' T PLAY THE GAME BE 1 N THE GA ME BE 1 N THE C ;ocK P 1 T 3E 1 N T HE OR 1 VER • S SEAT . BE lift THE HE 40 OF YOUR HERO design by With the UR GEAR helmet and Double Device Technology you can be in control of your racing car with a joystick or steering wheel and still look around at the same time. Pilot an airplane with any device you like and turn your head to see the enemy without touch- ing a key. Be able to see everywhere...indepen- dent of the direction you're going. Fire at will. Be in the game. Be in the head of your hero. Go to #090 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink ■ VAILASLE 4 T : (tabbiicre's Etc • DtSTfiieUITED THROUSH: t.ficrocciilral ()()hc.ld,corti - Electronic tJoulique • Fry's Electronic Cytwiuin Outpost .. AND OTHER HETAiEEFfS For further inforriidtions: www.Linionroiility.corn mveim IT'S THB OtFFBRBNCe BBTWBBN RBALaNP... mw. AMD^ S&Ei Official Speaker of the PGL CHBCa OUT THE MAP PCteMTtST AT WORK... WWW.POWeRei7PARTWgR$.COM © 1998 InterAct Accessories, Inc. A RECOTOM COMPANY. All rights reserved. Advent' and Powered Partners'^ are trademarks of Recoton Corporation. Unreal™ © 1998 Epic Megagames. Inc. All Rights Reserved. Created by Epic Megagames. Inc. in collaboration with Digital Extremes. Published and distributed by GT Interactive Software Corp. ON POW£/?£P PA£TN£/?S! )5^k\DVE\T ered Partners* Available through and or other fine retailers. Escape to a gaming experience like nothing you've ever imagined. With Advent Powered Partners sound systems, you'll feel those relentless Brutes and 15-ton Titans-long before you see them. No doubt Advent's unreal power will save your so-called life. Powered Partners. For intense sound the way it was meant to be heard, and gaming that is absolutely unreal. Full Throttle Dell Dimension XPS400 >V >V :A’ jV > D ell is the undisputed king of the direct sellers, and the XPS400 is a good reason why it has managed to stay on top. This system was a delight to set up, install, and run, and the price point is astonishing. You get a 400MHz Pentium II, 96MB of SDRAM, and solid graphics and audio — all for under $2,000. The only quibble we have is the lack of Voodoo^ and the somewhat cheesy speaker system. The combination of the RIVA TNT-based Velocity 4400 and the 400MHz CPU simply blew away the low-end competition in the test scores. Both the synthetic bench- marks and the 3D GameGauge scores were higher than the other sub-$2,000 systems by a fairly wide margin. The downside is that you don't getVoodoo^ for the $2,000 price. But if you really came across a 3Dfx-only game you just had to play, you could always add a Voodoo^ graphics card. As with all the Dell systems, setup was a snap, and the system hummed along with no major glitches. The only concern we have is that the 200-watt power supply may be anemic if you really start loading the How Low Can We Go? I f you have a fat wallet, it's easy to get a fast system. But what if you don't have a fat wallet? What if even $2,000 is too rich for your blood? We recently went through the exercise of assembling a couple of systems for under $1,500. One used the 300MHz version of AMD's K6-2 and the other used Intel's 333MH2 Celeron-A CPU. In both cases, we were able to build systems— including a 17-inch monitor— that performed reasonably well for under $1,500. Except for the motherboard and CPUs, the systems were identical. Common components included 64MB of PC100 compliant SDRAM, a 5.7GB Maxtor hard drive, a Diamond Monster Fusion AGP board (which uses the 3Dfx Voodoo Banshee chipset), and an Optiquest Q71 monitor. An lOMagic Vortex-based sound card and a set of Cambridge Soundworks PC Works speakers handled audio chores. The K6-2 system ran on an ASUS PSA motherboard, which uses the All Alladin V chipset, whereas we popped the Celeron-A into an Abit BH6 motherboard. Both boards have one AGP and five PCI slots, plus a couple of ISA slots, and should have performance that's more than adequate for most games. If we can build these systems for $1,500, then it's clear that the big resellers should be able to offer decent gaming systems for under $1,500 — or even less. Most sub $1,200 systems we've seen have some serious compromises some- where — either the graphics cards are terribly slow, the speakers tinny, or the monitor minuscule. Of course, another use for a good $1,200 system would be for that second system in your house. That way, multiplayer becomes that much easier. After all, maybe the Ultimate Game Machine setup, has more than one system.... Dell down with a second hard drive and Voodoo^ SLI. (Though the 12GB hard drive should hold you for awhile.) Another concern is that the US Robotics Winmodem is a "soft" modem, meaning that the CPU plays a part when the modem is in use. So if Internet multiplayer gaming is in your future, you might consider upgrading the modem on this guy. Most of our concerns are pretty minor. Overall, the Dimension XPS400 is one helluva bargain, offers unmatched performance in its price class, and should serve as a solid platform for most gamers. Dell Dimension XPS400. S 1,999. Dell Computer, Round Rock, TX. (800) 999-3355. i/vi/viv.c/e//.com PROS: Works out of the box: great price/performance value. CONS: No Voodoo^, cheesy speakers. Speeds €f feeds^ CPU Pentium ll/400MHz 96MB Motherboard BIOS 2D graphics Graphics RAM: 16MB STB Velocity 4400 3D graphics Monitor Hard drive EIDE 12GB NEC DVD-ROM Removable storage Primary audio Secondary audio Speakers Game controller 1 Game controller 2 Keyboard Mouse Microsoft (with wheel) Modem USR S6K WinModem COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 I'.computcrg.nTiing.c Full Throttle Gateway G6-350 A A > A ★ or the Bang for the Buck roundup, Gateway sent us a Pentium ll/350MHz box that's a pretty solid system, except that it marries you to Gateway’s graphics card choice by putting the chip down on the motherboard with no AGP slot for future upgrades. To the company's credit, this flaw is mitigated by the presence of an STB Voodoo^ board, but it's still an unfortunate design decision. The G6-350 is pretty much a garden-variety beige box, but it's accessed easily enough by remov- ing a single thumb screw. Once inside, we made the unhappy dis- covery that this rig has an AGP RIVA 1 282X with 8MB of video memory down on the mother- board. This is unfortunate because there is a design option for graph- ics called "3-way AGP" that allows for a motherboard-down graphics Speeds Cr feec^sj CPU Pentium ll/350MHz ItAM 64MB Motherboard Intel Tolstoy BIOS Phoenix 2D graphics RIVA 128zx w/8MB (motherboard'domn) 3D graphics STB Black Magic 3D Monitor Gate EV700 17-indi Hard drive Western Digital AC26400B 6.4GB CD-ROM i\i/A DVD-ROM Toshiba SD-M1201 Removable storage n/A Primary audio Sound Blaster AudioPCI Secondary audio /V /4 Speakers Boston Acoustics BA635 Game controller 1 None Game controller 2 None Keyboard Gateway 101-key with multimedia controls Mouse MS Mouse w/whee! Modem Telepath 56.6 chip as well as an AGP slot for a future upgrades, but in an effort to keep the price down. Gateway didn't opt for this design. The good news here is that right next to where an AGP slot should be is STB's Black Magic 3D Voodoo^ board, which ably handles 3D graphics chores — although it can't run at 1024x768 double-buffered with a z-buffer. Gateway's audio choices are hit and miss. The hit is Boston Acoustics' impressive BA635s, which are just about the most impressive low-cost speakers we've heard. But the miss is Creative’s Sound Blaster AudioPCI — a revamped version on Ensoniq's very basic PCI audio chip, which supports neither A3D nor Creative’s own EAX standard, and it does most of its DirectSound "acceleration" on the CPU. Gateway gets clearly outgunned by the other two entrants, due in large part to the RIVA 1 28zx's underwhelming performance rela- tive to the Dell's RIVA TNT and Alienware's Savage3D-based parts. Gateway's poor performance is attributable to two things: First, RIVA 1282x's driver doesn't allow V-sync to be disabled, so part of its low 3D GameGauge score is caused by refresh rate issues. Second, RIVA 1282x has about one- third the fill rate of RIVA TNT, and this also shows up in the numbers. However, for secondary 3D graph- ics performance. Gateway was neck-and-neck with Alienware, which also has a Voodoo^ board and a 350MHz Pentium II CPU. In the Fill-Rate Torture Test, the Gateway's graphics driver gave an error message saying it couldn't get a proper texture format. Despite a few bright moments. Gateway's sub-S2000 offering makes too many compromises to be an effective gaming box. With a few tweaks, Gateway could have a winner on its hands, but until it addresses the G6-350's shortcom- ings, you may want to pass. Gateway G6-350. Si, 698. Gateway. North Souix City, SD. (800) 846-4208. www.gateway.com PROS: Easy access; great speak- ers; Voodoo^ board. CONS: Motherboard-down "per- manent" graphics; RIVA USzxno longer stacks up well; weak sound card choice. Kd',7 Bottom Line Time I f you've got the bucks, the prime choke is still Falcon Northwest’s Mach V system. This year Falcon Northwest has shipped us a slightly more conservative system — no RAID array, no DVD drive. Instead, we got a solid, high-performance system that ran without any glitches. As a runner-up, the Dell Dimension XPS450 turned out some solid benchmark numbers and ran flawlessly. About the only thing we'd add to it would be a Voodoo^ card or two. This year's Bleeding Edge award goes to Alienware. We admire its attempt to push the envelope, but we ran into some annoying glitches. The frequent crashes of the EIDE RAID array were particularly worri- some. Compaq gets the Most Improved award, shipping a serious 3D accelerator for the first time, and it can even be upgraded. On the low end, the clear winner is the Dell XPS400. For just under $2,000, you get a 400MHz CPU, RIVA TNT, 1 2GB of hard- drive space, and lots of memory. Again, Alienware gets some nods for trying to push the envelope a bit, but we were quite disap- pointed with the performance and glitches exhibited by the Terminator Beast graphics card. Gateway's low-end system was disappointing because its adequate, but aging, primary graphics can't be upgraded. So if you have a healthy budget, then take a look at the Falcon Northwest Mach V. If you're budget is tighter, the Dell XPS400 looks like a real winner— but you may need to add Voodoo^ .'.computergaming. c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 IN SEARCH OF THE ULTIMATE GAMING MACHINE New CPUs to Challenge Intel A t the recent Microprocessor Forum held in San Jose, California, AMD, Cyrix, and Rise Technology unveiled their 1 999 wares, which were all aimed at delivering more power for less money. Initially the PC price-bar was set at just under 51,000, but now many vendors are talking about sub- 5800 systems, and there's even some talk of sub-$500 systems in the near future. How will system makers pull this off? By trimming every ounce of fat from the sys- tem, and by using highly integrated processors, such as Cyrix's MediaGX, which incorporates both graphics and audio functionality onto the CPU. Intel's forthcoming Whitney chipset will inte- grate an i740 2D/3D graph- ics chipset into the north bridge (the control circuitry and data path between the CPU and main memory), as well as audio and other basic system functionality. These new systems may put a PC on every kitchen counter, but they won't be effective gaming boxes. The good news is that all of this downward price pressure will make mid-level, and even many faster CPUs come down in price. AMD unveiled its next-generation K7 processor core, which will feature a 128KB Level 1 (LI) cache, and a backside Level 2 (L2) cache whose size will range from 51 2KB to SMB. A backside L2 cache has the advantage of not having to share its bus with slower main memo- ry, and can run at the CPU's full clock rate, and K7's L2 clock rate will be programmable. K7 also will support main memory speeds up to 200MHz, thanks to AMD's use of Digital's Alpha EV6 bus technology, which will allow for a peak data rate of 1 .6GB/sec, twice the rate of Intel's current 440BX chipset. The downside here is that K7 will now need its own socket, which AMD has dubbed "Socket A," This presents two prob- lems for AMD: The first is motherboard-maker sup- port; and the second is system chipset-maker sup- port. At press-time, we hadn't heard announce- ments of intended support from either camp, although AMD stated that third-party makers of both products would support K7. AMD will also be making a K7-compatible chipset. K7 also has a revamped floating-point unit that features three superscalar (able to execute more than one command at once) execution units, and is fully pipelined. 3DNow! support is still present, and will help move DirectSD games along if they use D3D's trans- form and lighting engine. Initial speed grades on the K7 will most likely start at SOOMHz and head north after the chip debuts about the middle of 1 999. —Dave Salvator 3Dfx's Power of 2 Campaign Aimed at the SLI-impaired Dfx'sVoodoo^ Scan-Line ^ Interleaved (SLl) configura- I tion packs a serious amount ' of 3D horsepower and still remains the 3D king. But SLl has : been out of reach for some gamers because of its daunting price tag, which was about 5600-700 when Voodoo^ first shipped. Well, it seems that Voodoo^ board-maker Guillemot International is having an SLl fire sale, offering dual 12MB Voodoo^ boards for $229. This fortuitous price drop was precip- itated by the arrival of 3Dfx's own Banshee 2D/3D chipset, as well as nVidia's RIVA TNT chipset, which compare favorably to Voodoo^. But where TNT and Banshee both trail is versus Voodoo^ SLl. Voodoo^ SLl does have a few limitations: First, it will run only in 16-bit color, which for almost all current games is fine, but 1 999 may well be the year game makers switch to using 32-bit true-color artwork, and Voodoo^ will have to dither this down to 16-bit. Also, SLI's maximum resolution is 1024x768, which is plenty for now, but RIVA TNT can run at higher resolutions, and ATI's forthcoming Rage 128 chipset will do the same. What's interesting is that thus far, Guillemot Is the only board maker making the 5229 SLl proposition. Other Voodoo^ board makers such as STB, Diamond, and Creative Labs have all dropped their Voodoo^ board prices, either by straight price drop or with rebate coupons. Other board makers will probably follow Guillemot's lead this holiday season. — Dave Salvator Techwatch 3Dfx Banshee 2 3Dfx's unan- nounced next-generation chip that will be its only offering. We haven't heard of any plans to do another 3D-only part for the PC market, though it still may still design 3D-only parts for the coin-op arcade market. As 3Dfx's flagship (and only) part, Banshee 2 will have to be an aggressive performer, and will most likely have a fill-rate between 250-300IVIpixels/sec, which could well give 3Dfx an edge among 2D/3D chips. ETA: q2 '99 Rendition Rredline Multimedia Accelerator Rendition's next-generation part that will also feature dual rendering pipelines and sup- port all DirectX 6 features. The chip features a 128-bit memory interface, but Rendition breaks this into dual independent 64- bit wide channels, which Rendtion claims will achieve real-world memory perfor- mance 50 percent faster than a 1 28-bit bus alone. ETA: Q1 '99 Direct RDRAM Intel's new memory technology that operates in a multichannel configuration. Initial speeds will most likely be a dual-channel setup running at 1.6GB/sec (800MB/sec per channel). Katmai processors will be able to use either DRDRAM or SDRAM. ETA: Q1 '99 Intel Katmai Intel's next round of CPUs, with anticipated clock speeds of 450 to 500MHz. In additional to the higher clock speed, Katmai CPUs will also feature what Intel has clumsily dubbed "Katmai New Instructions," a name given to avoid calling these new instruc- tion-set extensions MMX2. ETA: qi '99 Intel IA-64This new 64-bit CPU will use a new set of Very Long Instruction Word (VLiW) instructions and use a tech- nology termed EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing) to execution of instructions in parallel. ETA: 2000 COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 ■'.computergaming.r Yamaha Speakers Sound Better, Even On Paper. With exclusive YEiiiialia Active Servo Tcclitiology (YST) nnci spruce cotie architecture, the Yamaha YST-MS28 Speaker System Hoods your senses with vivid, spectacular soutid that invigorates games and music. The subwoofer and satellite speakers use superior Yamaha YST technology to produce deep, rumbling bass that no other speakers can match. It brings the menacing approach of a T-Rcx to life with rriglitening conviction. At the heart of the compact, adjustable satellite speakers, spruce cones deliver brilliant highs capable of belting out screaming guitar solos. In fact, Yamaha speakers arc the music industry reference stan- dard; liiey're used in nearly every recording studio in the world. In addition to the excellent .sound, the YST-MS28 gives you two stereo inputs, a heiidphone ouipiil jack, magnetic shielding, convcnienl controls and total compalibility with all computers and game systems. Your ultimate computer system is incomplete without Yamaha speakers. And you can own the YST-MS28 for under $80. or choose any of Yamaha’s other award-winning speakers and sub- woofers. Because as good as they sound on paper, iicaring them is an absolute blast! THE\to\buRCoMPtrrER Should Sound. SYAMAHA for a brochure, call (800)823-6414 ercl. 513 oi 1 . *1998 Yamaha Corporation of America, Consumer Products Division, P.O. Box 6600. Buena Park, CA 90622-6600 SOUNDCARDS MULTIMEDIA SPEAKERS C 0 - R E W R I T A B L E RECORDERS HEADPHONES BUY C OMPjKA >E™ pnlAbilil v miOOCEnijn; Go to #291 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink ligerDirect I N THE LAND OF DARIEN, the noble Kingdom of Aramon again fortifies itself for the continuing onslaught of war. Centuries ago, the once grand realm of Darien was torn into four separate kingdoms. Using tveapons forged from muscle and steel, you’ll amass an army of footsoldiers, horsemen, cannons, catapults and more. Your charge tvill be to control the vast kingdom of Darien. Victory means the return of honor to this once magnificent kingdom. Defeat means an unholy rule that will alter the course of the universe forever. Command the Kingdom of Aramon by swearing your life to uphold the creed of honor. Amass a mighty army of foot soldiers, horsemen, catapults, and siege towers. Build massive castles of stone, wood, and iron to defend against the onslaught of demonic hordes. Charge into battle with weapons forged from of steel and carved from wood. Build ships to carry troops and invade distant shores. Discover the kingdom of Aramon now at www.cavedoq.com ‘(f' Go to #172 @ www.computergaming.com/infollnk The Lord of the CPU The More Things Change... "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. " — J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings S ometimes it seems that the PC on my desk is like the One Ring, Sauron's ring from The Lord of the Rings. Over time, it becomes an obsession, sometimes to the detriment of fis- cal or physical health. It beckons you late at night when you're best off sleeping, but instead you find yourself wandering over to the glowing screen, as if it is beckoning you in some irre- sistible fashion. Someone sug- gests that maybe you don't need that next upgrade and you find yourself snarling, "My precious!" Okay, so I'm exaggerating. In fact, these engines of entertain- ment we call personal computers have become as much a part of our lives as cars were to a previ- ous generation. So it's time to peer into the crystal ball for the upcoming year and try to figure out upgrade strategies. The Best of Times, the Worst of Times As you read this, Intel is readying its successor to the now-venerable Pentium li. The code name is Katmai, and it delivers a slew of enhancements to the Pentium II architecture. It's still pretty much the P6 core at heart, but there’s a radical enhancement to the old MMX technology known as Katmai New Instructions (KNI). We've written about Katmai elsewhere. Suffice it to say that it should accelerate the kind of math needed for 3D geometry calcula- tions 100-200 percent faster than a Pentium II. The good news is that the first release of Katmai will be a slot- one CPU. That means it should plug into most motherboards that use Intel's 440BX chipset. You may need a BIOS update from the board manufacturer, but that's about it. Katmai will initially ship as a 450MHz CPU, with a 500MHz part to ship a bit later. This means that if you've followed my past advice, and upgraded to a 440BX mother- board with PCI 00 compliant memory, you can step up to the next generation CPU from Intel simply by swapping CPUs. So Much for the Good News Late in the year, PC technology will change radically. For the industry, it's good news, because it will generate a whole slew of new upgrades. For those of us that feel compelled to keep up with the Jonses, it's bad news, because it means we'll have to shell out more hard-earned dollars. For one thing, the difference in performance between low-end and and high- end systems will start to get wider again. In the past few months, tech savvy users have upgraded to Pentium II class systems by getting Celeron or /I Katmai can accelerate the kind of math needed for 3D geometry calculations 100-200 percent faster than a Pentium |/ f The Computer Gaining Uorld Reference System O ne of the problems we here at CGIV wrestle with is how to present review information in a usable way. One of the other editors pointed out that it was difficult, for example, to choose a graphics card because the system the cards are tested on would vary from one issue to another. That makes it nearly impossible to compare the performance of one product to another. Because of this, we decided it was time to create a baseline system on which all our hardware reviews would be conducted. So I'd like to present to you the Computer Gaming World Reference System. We'li use this for all our performance-oriented product testing over the next 9-12 months. In the list at right is the gear we brought together for the system. Since our performance-oriented testing, such as graphics cards, will be run on this system throughout most of the year, you'll be able to compare performance of different products in an intelligent way. It's just another way of providing you with the information you need to make an informed buying decision. Intel SE440BX motherboard (Similar to those used by Dell and others) 400MHz Pentium II (By year's end, this will be the entry level CPU) 128MB PC100 compliant SDRAM 10GB, 7200RPM EIDE hard drive RIVA 128ZX-based (Primary graphics card) 12IV1B Voodoo^ (Secondary graphics card) 17-inch monitor 56K modem Vortex-based PCI audio card COMPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 ii.computcrganiing.c LOYD CASE J^hese engines of entertainment we call personal computers have become as much a part of pp^ves as cars were to a previous generation If Celeron-A CPUs and clocking them up so they glow like the One Ring tossed into a fire. But although the Celeron line will step up to the 100MHz system bus in 1999, there will be no Celeron with Katmai New Instructions. Celeron itself will be chang- ing. Future Celerons will be chip- based, and will plug into — get this — yet another socket format. No, it's not socket 7. It's not socket 8. It’s socket-A. The Once and Future PC One discussion at the Intel Developer forum went into great length on the wonders and bene- fits of software audio. In other words, instead of having a sound card, you'd have the CPU process all audio data. Intel suggested that on a 300MHz Pentium II, "233MHz will be free after audio processing." Gee, and I thought with all these hardware accelera- tors coming out for 3D graphics and audio, we'd finally have some spare CPU cycles for game Al and physics. Intel thinks other- wise, and would just as soon you use those CPU cycles for sound processing — meaning if you want better performance, you pay more money for a faster CPU. Guess what; Soft audio will be targeted for low-end (51,000) systems. Core gamers willing to shell out bucks will of course get a Katmai CPU and a PCI sound card with DirectSound accelera- tion. The performance difference between high end and low end will get even greater. Intel also wants to eliminate legacy hardware — which means no more ISA bus. While this will cause some financial pain for people who might buy a "legacy free" system, it means, in the long run, better performance and easier upgrading. This is one change that I'm applauding. Then there’s Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), RDRAM is a new memory technology that promis- es to speed up the rate at which data is moved between memory and the CPU. Coupled with Katmai's streaming memory technology, we may see system bus speeds of 133MHz, 200MHz, or more. Of course, it means that if you upgrade to a RDRAM- capable motherboard and you want to use RDRAM, you get to throw away all that SDRAM you bought. There is a bit of good news: Those motherboards should also support SDRAM, easing the transition a bit. As 1999 draws to a close, we'll see the appearance of FireWire (IEEE 1394) as a disk interface in PCs, supplanting both IDE and SCSI. FireWire will be faster than either, and can support hot swappable hard drives. To complement this, a new technology called device bay may start to appear on PCs by year's end. Today, installing a hard drive or CD-ROM means turning off the system, opening the case, removing the hard drive, screwing in the new one, and so on. With device bay, you just pop the old drive out from the front of the case and slip in the new one. Power management will change, too. Today, we have fairly crude setups, with modest abilities to go to low-power state. Future PCs will never be completely turned off (like newer model televisions). Instead, when you hit the power switch, the system will go into a very low-power state. Pressing the power switch again brings the system back up. To some extent, you see this today, but the capabilities will be much more sophisticated. The Dawning of a New Age in Predictions So it looks like my general advice to build systems with upgrades in mind may change by the end of 1 999. At that point, it may be better to buy a new PC than to upgrade an existing one. My big fear is that PCs will become like modern cars. Ever try to "tune up" a car with an onboard computer and fuel injection? At any rate, 1 999 will be an interesting time for PC users and gamers. The only thing we can do now is wait to see what pans out and how much thinner our wallets will get. Now, where's that damned volcano? f. d> c CD OQ tn 0) o O) OD c >. XI c 6u|>|jn] su3|)e BELIEVE YOUR EARS" Check out Sin^ the cutting edge new game from Activision & Ritual - It's got A3D. Enter online.- http://elexis.a3d.com O" Q. <■ a! 3* (Q 0“ n> (D 0 3 (A ■o (D QJ TT CD U) 1 O' '< (D Oi (D 01 (A O C 3 Q. (A O Q) '< O c 0 ) peeu noA uaijM Apueq uj saoioo )| op sjea CD CO '< o (D 0) "I (0 o “1 QJ O TT (/) o (n (D (U '< '< o c “1 a> >< (0 (n £U tn Aiuappns jj mou sueaiu LiD!Liy\/\ spjOM asaqi 6 u!>|dbji 01998 AuiCil Semlconduclor, Inc. A3D >n! speed CD-ROM drive 3Com/U.S. Robotics 56K WinModem*’ nVidia Riva 129, SMB SGRAM ID AGP graphics PCI 64-volce Wavetable sound 5-yfar/3-yeai Micron Power* limited warranty Intel Pentium II processor 450MHz 512XB Internal L2 cache 123MB lOOMHz SDRAM 1I.6GB UltraATA hard drive* 19" Micron 90014 monitor (18" display) 4.aXDV0!II ROM drive 3Com/U.S. Robotics 56K WinModem” nVidia RIva 128, SMBSGRAHSDAGPgraphics PCI 64-voice Wavetable sound 5-yeat/3-yearHlmn Power limited warranty Intel Pentium H processor 3S0MHz S12KB internal L2 cache 12SHS lOOHHz SDRAM 14.4GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA hard drive* 19" Hicron 900bt monitor (18' display) 4.BX DVDIII ROM drive 3Com/U.S. Robotics 56K WinModem" Diamond Viper S50 nVidia TnT, I6HB graphics PCI 64-voice Wavetable sound 5-year/3-year Micron Power bmited warranty Intel Pentium II processor 45DMHz 512KB internal L2 cache 12BH8 lODMHzSDRAH 14.4GB 7200 RPH Ultra ATA hard drive* 19" Hlaon 90014 monitor (IB'dispby) 4.8X DVDIII ROM drive SCom/U.S. Robotics 56K WinModem" Diamond Viper 550 nVidia Tnl, t6H8 graphics PCI 64-vDice Wavetable sound 5-year/3-year Hicron Power limited warranty Software Included Microsoft' Windows' 9B Hiciosolt Oifice 97 Small Business Edition Norton AntiVIrus Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition Norton AntiVirus Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Office 97 SmaL Business Edition Norton AntiVirus Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition Norton AntiVirus Also Includes: New HIcioTower’' case Advent AV009 stereo speaRets 104-key enhanced keyboard Microsoft IntelliHouse' I, S' floppy drive New MkioTowercase Monsoon HHIOOO flat panel speakers with subwoofer 104-key enhanced keyboard Microsoft InlelllMouse 3,5’ floppy drive Micron MiniTowercase Monsoon HHIOOO flat panel speakers with subwoofer 100M8 Iomega Zip Drive 1D4-Icey enhanced keyboard Microsoft InlelUHouse 3.5" floppy drive Hicron MiniTowercase Monsoon HHIOOO flat panel speakers with subwoofer lOOHB Iomega Zip Drive 104-key enhanced keyboard Microsoft IntelliHouse 3,5’ floppy drive Price 1,499 ■ ^ IWW pjymsniPlan 4Bmos. ^ 2^99 Payment Plan * 2 , 699 ^ 3 );; Payment Plan 48mos. ® 2^99 ‘33/™ Payment Plan AfeivioivPr/ee/ 48mo5. Play to win. New Rules. New Tools." ORDER DIRECT 1 - 888 - 669-0969 Call us toll-free or order online at www.micronpc.com/cgw REVIEW • THE INTENSOR CHAIR Ass-inine Peripheral by Loyd Case I survived the VFX-1 virtual reali- ty helmet, having nearly ripped out my ears straying too far from the PC to which it was tethered. 1 survived an explod- ing network interface card, having removed my head from the inside of the case only seconds COMPUTER GAMIIMG _WORI.D APPEAL: People who buy products based on the way they look. PROS: It looks like an alien chair from a 5far 7rek episode. CONS: Uncomfortable as hell; sounds terrible; expensive; a pain to set up. Price; chair, 5293: amp/subwoofer SI 99; chair base $99; S597 total (street). Manufacturer: BSG laboratories Panama City, FL (850)265-5000 before it self-destructed. I’ve even survived lifting 21 -inch monitors. But i nearly didn't survive the Intensor. After only a half-hour in this baby. I felt like I had three compressed vertebrae, I had whacked my funny bone three times on the so-called armrests, and 1 nearly blew out my eardrums when I rolled the chair back and yanked out the a!l-too-short tether from the amplifier. The result was a huge popping sound that left my ears ringing. If you get the Intensor, skip get- ting the base. The Intensor itself isn't too difficult to set up, but installing it into the five-wheel pedestal nearly reduced two grown men to tears. Attaching the arm- rests proved an interesting exercise in puzzle solving. Worse, the chair is easier to install in its folded posi- tion (since it would fail over any- way), but the armrests prevent the unit from unfolding once installed. On top of all this, it sounds terrible. The speakers sound tinny and flat, and the bass is pretty pathetic. Even with the subwoofer active, there wasn't a lot of bass rumble, and musical content sounded abysmal. Gameplay wasn't par- ticularly enhanced either. The Intensor may simply be poorly suited for modern PC games, Many games are coming out with 3D audio support via DirectSoundBD, Creative's EAX, or Aureal's A3D positional audio, and the Intensor completely screws up the imaging in 3D audio. I played around with A3D settings, even changing to headphones, but the 3D effect was either lost or ren- dered incorrectly by the position of the speakers in the chair, Controls are pretty basic, with a power switch on the main unit and a pair of controls on the chair itself — right between your legs. One is a volume control; the other controls the intensity of the — uh— effea. If you have the subwoofer, there's a volume knob and crossover adjust- ment on the bass unit. Cranking everything up didn't really make me "feel the action," though. Stay away from this turkey — unless you really do want a stiff neck. K't.'.v REVIEW • NASCAR SPRINT RACING WHEEL Easy Rider by Jeff "I Can't Drive 45" Green I hate hardware, and hardware hates me. Take any functioning piece of computer equipment, give it to me, and sit back as springs fly, circuits short, and all sorts of other bad voodoo goes down. This is why I was asked to review ThrustMaster's NASCAR Sprint Racing Wheel, an ultra-cheap, low-end steering APPEAL Newbie PC drivers looking for their first wheel. PROS: Simple installation and calibra- tion; small footprint; low price point. CONS; Tiny pedals from hell. Price: $79.95 (list price) Manufacturer: ThrustMasier {503)615-3200 wheel aimed squarely at first-time wheel buyers. Since a chimpanzee wasn't available, I was the next best thing to the ultimate hard- ware-impaired gamer. This wheel delivers on its promises. I had the Sprint Racing Wheel set up, installed, and ready to race in about three minutes. It's nearly Plug-and-Play — all you have to do is attach the enclosed damps to the wheel, fasten the wheel to your desk, and plug the cord into your gameport. Software installa- tion is just as simple. An install CD basically takes care of everything for you, including a superintuitive, visual calibration before you use the wheel for the first time. The Sprint Racing Wheel's foot- print is much smaller than higher- end wheels, making it a conve- nient, practical choice for those with a cramped workspace. Happiiy, the smaller footprint does not in any way lessen the quality of the driving experience. The wheel itself is small but solid and has a rock-steady feel to it as you drive, I've played with much more expensive wheels that didn't feel nearly as good as this one. There are four programmable but- tons on the Sprint Racing Wheel (as opposed to just two on ThrustMaster's higher-end NASCAR Pro Racing Wheel). There are two levers underneath the wheel that can be either mapped as buttons or as throttle and brake controls — depending on whether you want to use the Sprint Racing Wheel’s enclosed pedals, And this leads to the product's only serious flaw — these pedals suck. The pedal unit is small and flimsy, is easily knocked over, and the pedals themselves are so tiny that it's a struggle not to press both at once, Fortunately, the levers on the wheel work quite well — because you'll definitely want to use these instead of the pedals. As long as you can handle the compromise of either using no pedals or lousy pedals, the NASCAR Sprint Racing Wheel is a great first steering wheel. It's cheap, easy-to-use, and has the high-quality feel of more expensive ThrustMaster products. For those new to the driving game, it's a solid choice, SSJ COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 /.computergaming.< DO SOMETHING MORON! Kegon Falls UJhen you design and build a 50-story tower with euerything from deluKe hotel rooms to juice bars to security systems, problems will arise, find some will be more challenging than others. Like massiue fires. Terrorist bomb threats. Rnd 87-year-old ladies who bought million dollar condos only to find themselues liuing under the hottest raue in town, www.yootpc.com VOOT Tower [vou BUILD IT. VOU DEAL UJITH IT. ABUSE CTEINAl AMMUNIIlO>^ •MMOftlALItY POWER' windows" 95/98 nintendo 64’ sega saturn- playstation” game When the clutches of evil have the city by its throat, when justice shoulders and the troubled masses cry out your name, you do whatever it do right. And shortcuts are no exception. With GameShark for Windows* 95/9^ game enhancer, you get the superpower to leap to the next level in a single bound. Long before the enemy, and the competition. You can also acquire superhuman strength, speed and longevity, if that's what the job requires. Whether you're top dog or underdog, evil will always pay, and good will always prevail. FERPCTUAL cash 1 $ 1 1 game boy" Registered to WIN a Falcon Northwest Computer System ($4000 Value)! / When you register your GameShark™ for Windows® 95/98. Check out www.gameshark.com for details! Available at these fine retailers: COMPUSA o mcemtax sollwiie® ©tar(»- vwhart 1 REVIEW • VIEWSONIC VP150 Flat-Out Beautiful by Loyd Case I 've been skeptical of flat-panel displays for gamers, but this one made me a convert. I’m used to laptop displays that either shrink or get horribly distorted when the resolution changes, but this is no longer a problem. If you don't mind the somewhat small image and the COMPUTER^ GAMING _ WORLD APPEAL; People with cramped desk space and looking for a superb display. PROS: It's small, fairly bright, and veiy, veiy flat. CONS: Expensive. Price: S995 Manjfactuier: ViewSonic Walnut, CA (800) 888-8583 nearly $1 .000 price tag, the ViewSonic VP1 50 may be just the thing to grace your desktop. The VP1 50 is an analog flat- panel display that works with any graphics card. It's not a digital flat panel and thus doesn't require a special graphics card. There's none of the usual distortion associated with tube displays, such as pincush- ioning, misconvergence, or trape- zoid adjustments. Setup is straight- forward — unpack it, plug in the VGA and power cables, and turn it on. I did have to hunt for the cleverly hidden power switch, though. (It's on the right side.) Although it's only a 1 5-inch dis- play, it's a true 1 5 inches diago- nally and somehow feels bigger. There's no tube to hide under the bezel, so it's really equivalent to a mythical 16-inch tube-based display. It's so flat that at first it appears concave if you're used to standard monitors. One concern with LCD displays in the past was the limited viewing angle. ViewSonic specs the viewing angle at 140 degrees horizontal, but it does start to fade a bit after being about 45 degrees off center. Still, for most uses that's not an issue. The picture itself is bright and steady, and in a close visual inspection, I noticed no dark spots — pretty impressive for a 1024x769 LCD. Clearly, LCDs have improved a great deal over the last several years. I put the monitor through its paces by running QUAKE II and CIVILIZATION II through a number of different resolutions. I was very impressed. Even when running QUAKE II at 320x240, theVPlSO displayed the image full screen. Image quality was veiy good, although the effects of interpolation of pixels was a bit disconcerting. At 640x480 and higher, there wasn't any noticeable image degradation. The maximum supported resolution is 1 024x768 at 75Hz, but there's no noticeable flicker at that setting. The VP1 50 is a great answer for tight desktops, provided you can afford it and can live with its 15- inch size. SPEED KILLS ATI RAGE FURY. So fast, you won’t know what hit you. • True 128-bit 3D and 2D graphics engine • Advanced 3D architecture including Superscaiar Rendering which doubles rendering performance and Single-Pass Multi- texturing to render images and effects together on the fly • A massive of memory for realistic 3D gameplay, massive textures and resolutions up to 1920x1200 • Designed for DirectX 5.0/6.0 and OpenGL with full iCD • integrated hardware DVD for incredible video playback • Features TV-out for big screen gaming Supports ATi-TV Wonder that turns your PC into a TV the New Sreed of Speed. vwvw.atitech.com/ad/cgw ® Copyri|ht 1998, ATI Technologies Inc. ATI, RAGE FURY and ATI-TV Wonder are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc- Produces may not be exactly as shown. • Experience 3D game action with true color performance at 1024x768 T he bloody hont for your enemy's^ FLAG CONTINUES. SURPASSING THE GAME ELECTRONIC G^ING MONTHLY AWARDED "1996 GAME OF THE YEAR", THIS SECOND GENERATIDN DF PULSE- PDUNDING 3D LAND, SEA AND AIR COMBAT^ IS THE ULTIMATE GAMING EXPERIENCE. Over 30 new maps with huge terrain and landscapes includ- ing jungle, desert and urban settings. Plus 2 new maps every month available on the website. Blast your opponents from ground and airborne vehicles Including Jump Jets, Tanks, Helf^ters, Assault Vehicles, Jeeps and PT Boats. Advanced enemy Al keeps you coming back for more! New 30 engine that creates more dynamic and realistic graphics and high quality 30 rendered objects. Full support for OpenGL and 3Dfx accelerator cards. Support for all joysticks including force feedback. Three perspectives... • first person • third person-close • third person-far ’-'u;, * 16 player action over the New multi-player support Internet, LAN, or 8 player/ 2 offers head-to-head dogfight computer direct connect & mode and cooperative or modem. Split screen 4 player death match action for up to mode on one computer. 16 players on LAN or internet. O ^ Panasonic- 0 193B Ripcord Games. RETURN FIRE 20 1997 ProliOc publlsnitiB. All Rights Reswed. All other Itadematks are Ihe properly of their respective companies. WINDDWS-OS CD-RDM IS BACK... “...a delightful 3-D Capture-the-Flag game that comes into its own in multiplay." _ pc Games ^ of™ “^^ether you’re a real-time strategy fanatic or a dyed-in-the-wool action hound, RF2’s IPJl got something for you.” -pccamer ..loads of fun and very addlcting...It’s the small attention to detail that wins you over.” . . an excellent value. Return Fire 2 is an unassuming action~fest with just enough strategy sprinkled on tqp to he nOteUJOrth^^^ — voodoo Magazine . .Amazing assortment of multiplayer modes. . . old fashioned, rock-solid gameplay — the best things never change." — Computer Gaming World Go to #078 @ wvm.Mniipiit9i4uning.com/infolink Lead a gang, control turf, build a power base and destroy your rivals on the mean streets of BEATDOWN. Real-time, missio based urban action takes you where no game has gone. Compete head-to- players via LAN Internet or mode 415/567-9501 http://www.hotb.com 1255 Post Street, Suite 1040 San Francisco, CA 94109 © 1998 HOT-B USA, Inc. All rlghls reserved. Bealdewn Is a Irademark 01 HOT-B USA. lirc.HOT.B is a reglslered r' trademark of HOT-B USA. Inc. ©1998 SOAR SOFTWARE. Cotp. SOAR SOFTWARE is a fradematk ol SOAR SOFTWARE CORP. Qo to #083 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Developed by GET READY FOR A BEATDOWN! THE MOST TRUSTED REVIEWS FOR 17 YEARS 1 This Month CGW Editors' Choice Games Are Indicated in Yellow I Game Rating Page Age of Empires: Rise of Rome ★ At Ac A: * 354 Axis & Allies A Ac Ac At A 358 Caesar Combat Flight Simulator A A A A A 330 Creatures 2 A A ^ ★ 364 Entrepreneur: Corporate Expansion A A A A A 360 F‘16 Multirole Fighter A A A A A 326 Front Office Football Grand Prix Legends A A A A A 340 Hexplore A A A A A 336 Klingon Honor Guard A A A A A 316 Knights & Merchants A A A A A 356 Madden MiG-29 Fulcrum A A A A A 326 Morpheus A A A A A 334 NCAA Football 99 A A A A A 350 Pro Pilot A A A A A 332 Quake II: Ground Zero A A A A A 308 Rage of Mages A A A A A 338 Return Fire 2 A A A A A 322 Sbogo A A A A A 312 Trespasser: Jurassic Park ★ A: A >r 318 War Along the Mohawk A A A A A 362 The Game Genres Action Games that emphasize fast gameplay over story or strategy. Adventure Games that require you to solve puzzies to move through a story line. Ciassics/Puzzic Classics are old standbys such as Chess and Monopoly. Puzzle games empha- size problem-solving without requiring gamers to follow a story. Role-Playing A subset of adventure games, these stress character development through attributes. The gameworld tends to be large; the plot less linear. Simulations Highly realistic games from a first-person per- spective, including flight sims and space simulations. Sports A broad genre encom- passing action sports games, such as NBA LIVE; strategic sports games, such as FPS FOOTBALL; and even driving games, such as CART Precision RACING. strategy Problem-solving and planning are the keys here. These games emphasize resource and risk-management. Includes con- flict-based sci-fi and fantasy games as well as construction pro- grams like SlMClTY. Wargames A subset of strategy games, these re-create historical conflicts from a command per- speaive. They may be tactical, operational, or strategic. How Do Vl/C RsiO? We review only finished products, not prerelease versions. Ihe ratings are as follows: ★ ★★★★ Outstanding The rare game that gets it all right. A must-play experience. Ar At Ar Ar A Very Good Worthy of your time and money, but there are drawbacks. A A A A A Average Either an ambi- tious design with major flaws, or simply vanilla. A A A A A Weak Seriously lacking in play value, poorly conceived, or just another clone. A A A A A Abysmal The rare game that gels It all wrong. Pathetic. Coaster material. v.computcrgaminR.r COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 “King’s ^uesc: TTlasif op CceRnicg is che advencuRe game oie most tuanc co pLag chis hoOdag season.” -CGW ujuiiu.8TeRRa8tudio8.com <&i998 Slerra”n-Uncil Inc, All rigfits rQsawaSierjJffia’S'iaBO, King's Quested MaAomerni^arnrademarilso^aoiSare^^^ ffademarks of Sierra On-line, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of MicrosofrCorporadon. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel corporation. Any other product and/or company naSMi are the property of their respective owners. ® indicates trademarks registered in U-S.A., which may be registered in other jurisdictions. — ^ >IJRR/{ Che scRies is 'in position to Reinvent the adventuste : gaming genRe...agQin.'’ asceR scoRycelteR ^bcRca tUilliama bRings lieR besc-selting Iting's (^uesc seRies tnco che' ne;icc mitlenium cuich a RevotucionaRg btend op cechnotogg, gameplag and scoRgcelling^ ^ou aCone have been chosen by pace Co make an epic jouRneg chRough ^ seven amazing lands co rccovcr che shacceRed pieces op che TTlask ' op CceRnicg and RescoRe tighc co a daRkening tuoRld. Succeed, and Ko»ER■r,^ honoR and gtoRg mill be gouRS. pail, . KlfiOMlSES'' poRces op evil mill Reign I i supReme...poR eccRnicg. * . RevotucionoRy 3 d acuonj| engine gives you comptece » pReedom of movement. I ' Real-time comfcfet! Tlepc gouR bRoad- suioRd and mete out punishment in a puRelg medieval manneR! IntRicate mental challenges RequiRC gou CO use gouR mind as tuell as gouR might. InteRact uiith dozens op unique chaRacteRS cuho luill guide gou in gouR quest to RCcoveR the lost pieces op the TTlasH op CteRnitg. : e;cpeRiente all seven ujoRlds thRough eitheR a ISC - OR 3Rd^®j3Sft8on point op vieoi. ... Go to #186 @iwww.'c0mputergatning.c6m/lnfollnk^ I STRATEGY/WARGAMES SPORTS SfMS ! CLASSICS/PUZ. CGW RGVIGWS IndGX These Are the Games We Have Reviewed in the Last Three Months Game Publisher Month Page CGW Rating Addiction Pinball MicroProse October 233 Beast Wars: Transformers Hasbro Interactive Oaober 233 Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos Interactive December 351 . -• . •' Get Medieval Monolith November 282 Gex: Enter the Gecko Midway Home Entertainment December 356 ► - K / - Heart of Darkness Interplay November 269 Incoming Xicat November 264 •. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Epic Megagames 233 . A « * Mortal Kombat 4 Midway November 277 A V NAM GT Interactive November 280 A X A Rainbow Six Red Stomi Entertainment December 342 M K ».■ A * Revenge of Arcade; Golden Edition Microsoft December 356 - w A * Rampage World Tour Midway October 230 < ~ V A Redneck Rampage Rides Again Interplay October 230 A A ■, Stratosphere Ripcord Games December 352 K ». « A Terra: Battle for the Outland Kaon Interactive October 230 K- * » A Urban Assault Microsoft December 346 .■ .i . Vangers Interactive Magic October 224 . ^ A 1 1 Final Fantasy VII Eidos November • 286 ,1 Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge Hoffmann and Associates November 328 1 ' r Leisure Suit Larry's Casino Sierra October 287 Looney Tunes Animated Jigsaws SouthPeak Interactive December 425 ^ ». V A Mega Solitaire Palladium interactive October 290 : A Ac * Notyet MVP Software December 425 - ,• •• Play This Play That Patch Products December 425 Ares Rising Imagine Studios December 376 Descent Freespace Interplay October 236 - /.■ F22 Total Air War DID/Infogrames December 361 Fighter Ace 1.5 Microsoft December 373 lAF Jane's Combat Sims December 370 , « iF/A-18E Carrier Strike Fighter Interactive Magic December 364 A - - Independence War Infogrames December 358 Jetfighter: Full Burn Mission Studios/Interplay November 305 . . .V * Spearhead Interactive Magic December 378 X-COM Interceptor MicroProse October 241 - A Warbirds 2.01 Interactive Magic December 382 3D Hunting: Trophy Whitetall Macmillan Computer Publishing November 299 .. .. .. Castrol Honda Superbike World Championship Intense Entertainment Interactive October 250 „ ^ Fox Sports Golf Fox Sports Interactive November 290 < A- Fox Sports Soccer Fox Sports Interactive October 264 A i A Golden Tee Golf Incredible Technologies December 404 .. i. = Microsoft Baseball 3D Microsoft October 252 w ^ A Microsoft Golf 98 Microsoft October 260 A Motocross Madness Microsoft December 388 -• . A NFL Gameday 99 989 Studios/Sony December 386 Redline Racer Ubi Soft December 394 A A Tiger Woods 99 EA Sports December 398 ^ ^ Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines Eidos Interactive December 406 A: A.' A- >• . Cyberstorm 2 Sierra October 270 . ' * X Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3 Eidos • ' , ' • October 280 K w ’V - -A Dune 2000 Westwood Studios 408 -V A Emergency; Fighters for Life WizardWorks • ''.i-. . December 420 Incubation: The Wilderness Missions BlueByte October 284 .!■ . Insurrection: Campaigns for StarCraft Aztech New Media October 284 . • .1 MAX 2 Interplay October 276 - I.- A A A- MechCommander Mkrdprose October 267 W Medieval incredible Simulations October 282 People's General SSI December 418 Police Quest: SWAT 2 Sierra November 314 A « Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics Cavedog December 420 A: Ji w A. A Tribal Rage TalonSoft October 284 *! .■> w Wargames MGM Interactive November 324 A » * Warlords III: Darklords Rising SSG/Red Orb December 417 A tr.computcrgamingx COMPUTER GAMING WORLD lUARY 1999 A Instant Action - Your excitement jumps to ftjtl afterburner in Falcon 4.0's Instant Action. Instantly you're in combat up to your eyeballs, facing an endless supply ol bandits. Even if you're new to flight sims. Falcon 4.0's simplified radar and flight model will let you get your bearings and have a blast at the same time. When you're ready for greater challenges, there's plenty of room to grow with our full avionics suite and accurate flight model. Falcon 4.0's AN/APG-68 radar, with its dozer modes and submodes, and the HARM Targeting System make Fa/co« 4.0 the mosi realistic combat sim on the planet. Of course, our stunning graphics and special effects just make it all the more believable. In a hurry? Inslant Action - no waiting. Campaign - When realism is what you care about most, you'll live for Falcon 4.0 dynamic, real-time campaign. It's a big. dangerous world out there and you're small but important factor in a large, complex war. Choose from any of the dozens c flight packages going out all day tong - each dynamically tailored to the changin' situation. This war is being fought on a multitude of fronts with tens of thousand; of air and ground units intensely intertwined in complex and unpredictable ways And just like in the real world, the war doesn't slop while you're planning your nex mission. Real-time in Falcon 4.0's campaign means time for realism. www.folcon4..com "While the hard-core flight-sim crowd will appreciate the systems realism and the depth of the campaign, the graphics environment should blow away gamers of all types." -Denny Atkin Computer Gaming World "Flameout landing. ..keep the runway between 11-17° in the HUD.. .airspeed 220 knots. Don't forget to compensate for the winds, the Tactical Engagement - Tactical Engagement is Falcon 4.0's mission builder, the most sophisticated in the known universe. We used it to provide you with dozens of training missions, covering weapons, avionics, flight dynamics - everything you need to become a combat ace. But you can use it to build your own custom mis- sions. You set up and control everything, from the number and placement of bad guys to the specific attack profile ofyourwingmen. Your missions can be as sim- ple as navigation training or as complex as a multi-objective campaign. Share your missions with others over the Internet. Or better yet.p/ayyour missions over the internet. However you use it. Tactical Engagement trains you to slay alive. Dogfight - As an F-16 pilot, you’re one tough dog in a solo fight. But modem com- bat pilots also use teamwork and strategy. You can do both in Falcon 4.0's Dogfight. Go head-to-head over the network. Up to four teams can Rghl in the same arena and you can have as many pilots as you have the bandwidth for. And if you don’t have any network buddies available, go one on one with the toughest Al pilots in cyberspace. You against a MiG-29, guns only. Let's see if your bile is worse than your bark. Available on Windows 95 CD-ROM. Visit your I local retailer or call t-800-695-GAME day or night (U.S. and Canada). A amis .^mDPROSE www.microprose.com REVIEW • QUAKE II MISSION PACK: GROUND ZERO Multiplayer: 1 , Single-player: 0 Rogue's New QUAKE II Pack Is Better With Friends Than Alone by Thierry Nguyen Y ou gotta love a severed head. Especially the severed head of a Tank Commander, one of the mightiest foes in the QUAKE II bestiary. Now, before you rush off to stuff and mount that bad boy for proud display in your den, there's something you’ll need to do — pick up that bloody melon and use its lifeless eyes to get past a retinal scanner in the Stroggos base that you've infiltrated. That's what I call good, clean fun, and it's just one of the cooler things you get to do in the new QUAKE II MISSION PACK: GROUND ZERO. Smart Monsters^ Deadly Monsters The biggest improvement to the single-player game is the Al. Rogue computer' 1 GAMII^ WORLD APPEAL QUAKE- heads who lean more toward multi- player and just can’t get enough. PROS: Improved enemy At; great additions to DeathMatch. CONS: Level design is a bit uninspired; single-player generally feels like more of the same; multiplayer levels are too big. DIFFICULTY; Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 90, Windows 95, 16MB RAM (24MB for GLQU/VCE II). 1 50MB hard-drive space, 4x CD-ROM, DirectX5-CDmpatible sound and video cards, original QUAKE II. 3D SUPPORT; OpenGL. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT; TCP/IP and LAN (2-1 6 players). Price: S26.95 Publisher: Aaivision Santa Monica. CA (310) 25S-2000 www.activision.c Entertainment took QUAKE H's core Al and tweaked it to make enemies more effective. For one thing, enemies learn how to use terrain. Berserkers, formerly afraid of heights, have conquered their sense of vertigo and readily descend on you whenever they can. Improved enemy pathfinding means you can no longer count on them getting stuck around boxes or corners anymore. Another improvement to the Al is its threat detection. The enemies have a better sense of how to avoid damage — best illustrated when you use the Tesla Mine, one of the new items. After you deploy a Tesla Mine, it's set to shoot a lightning-type bolt at any nearby being. Enemies who survive the initial blast learn to destroy the mine and any more that are creat- ed afterward. You can use this to your advantage: Drop a Tesla Mine in a narrow hall near a Berserker. He can't destroy it and lacks the room to maneuver around it. So he runs around confused, letting you kill him while he's spinning. As in the previous Mission Packs, some of the enemies from the original QUAKE II are buffed up for this release. In addition to the Al tweaks. Medics now use hyper- blasters, and the Daedalus is an Icarus with a better gun and a power shield. There are two all-new enemies, as in THE RECKONING. Turrets are a tough lot, firing either lasers or rockets with pin- point accuracy. On top of that, they require a few direct rocket hits to take down, and they pop up at the most inopportune times. The Stalkers are a creepy, spiderlike enemy that can easily dodge most projectile weapons by hopping from the floor to the ceiling. Their trickiest feat is playing dead, so you need to gib them. These pests are pretty much the coolest enemy in the game. Reach Out and Kill Someone The rest of the improvements are tuned specifically for multi- player (see "Multiple Mutilation" sidebar for specific goodies). For one thing, there are three all-new weapons. The first is a chain saw, a la DOOM. In single-player mode, it's effective only against the sol- diers, but it makes for a nice "I have bragging rights" kill during a multiplayer game. The ETF Rifle is essentially a nail gun that shoots explosive-tipped flechettes. It's pretty mediocre in the single-player game but shines in a DeathMatch; its armor-piercing rounds com- pletely ignore armor and pound at your enemy's health, weakening the tactic of getting 200 -f armor. The Plasma Beam, which shoots a concentrated light beam, is the last new weapon and the best of the lot. It’s similar to a lightning gun although it chews up cells a bit slower than its QUAKE inspiration and has unlimited range. One gun that didn't quite make the cut was the Disrupter (the negative-light gun), which was demonstrated in preview versions of the game. However, Rogue has said that the Disrupter is still being tinkered with and will probably be offered as a free download once the designers work out the kinks. For now, the only place you’ll see the Disrupter is in the hands of the game's final boss. The other additions are really modifications. There's the afore- mentioned Tesla Mine as well as SHOCK THERAPY An improved Al means tiiis bad guy will learn to shoot Tesla Mines— Hiat is, provided he lives through this attadc by one of tiiem. EL COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 v.computergaming.c QUAKE II MISSION PACK: GROUND ZERO • REVIEW proximity grenades, which made an appearance back in SCOURGE OF ARMAGON. One nice detail about these is that they explode when placed near a respawn point in multiplayer, so you can't get any cheap frags that way. The Mission Pack includes 14 levels designed for multiplayer. They're generally well designed, but have one common flaw; They're too big. You can tell Rogue had the Internet crowd in mind by creating maps that cater to crowds of 8-16 players. It's a nice thought but impractical for those on a local network with a few buddies. You spend too much time just trying to find each other. Despite that, levels such as The Razor's Edge, The Road to Nowhere, and Rogue's own version of The Edge make for fun fragfests. Here We Go Again The single-player game could use some work, though, for one thing, it's a bit too much QUAKE II. That is, you're still running around various warehouses, hangars, and storage depots while shooting up the populace. With textures that are generally the same as those in the original QUAKE II, the game gives you a "been there, done that" feeling. The design itself is basically equal to QUAKE II, although it's less linear, since you must run back and forth among the various levels Multiple Mutilations Rogue has added quite a few items to the DeathlWatch menu. Here's a quick guide to what these items do; Defender Sphere This sphere gives support fire via a modified blaster and absorbs half the damage from any I attack directed to you. Vengeance Sphere when your heath drops to 25 percent the Vengeance Sphere fires on your attacker enough that the attacker reaches that 25 percent figure. Hunter Sphere The best one of the lot it can also be called the Mutually Assured Frag Sphere. If you die while this is active, the sphere homes in and obliterates whoever just killed ' you. Revenge is sweet indeed. Antimatter Bomb The "Up yours, everyone!" nuke. Drop it and it starts beeping; after about ftve seconds, it explodes, heavily damaging — if not outright killing — any- one tvithin the blast radius. Best used in a crowded room ' where people may not notice the beeping. IR Goggles They give a reddish tinge and make items, such as weapons, power-ups, and enemies, bright red. it's usefulness is limited and is chiefly good for spotting campers who hide in dark comers. Doppelganger TTiis is an improvement on the DUKE NUKEM 30 model. Not just a mere replica, this I clone image will instantly kill anyone who attacks it. within each unit. There are some particularly cool moments in the levels, including a secret level in which you ascend a mine shaft as it fills with rising lava. Level trig- gers are used for maximum effect in this level. Another cool moment is when you don a soldier uniform and get to wander around a single level incognito. And then there's that lovely severed head. But these cool single-player moments are the exception, not the rule. In general, triggers are used for average effects, such as falling columns or air strikes. Also, the new turrets are overused. After their first appearance, the level designers seem to pack them in wherever they can. Everywhere you go, one just pops open from the wail and starts blasting away. It gets tiresome after a while. The single-player game does have a highlight — the devious bosses. The Carrier seems to have a bit of the STARCRAft influence since it conjures smaller Flyers to support it — even though it's pack- ing machine guns, a rail gun, and a rear-mounted grenade launcher. The Black Widow is even worse, resembling the classic Cyberdemon from DOOM, with a more sinister form and arsenal to boot. GROUND ZERO is kind of a mixed bag. QUAKE II has been around, and this pack doesn't deliver as profound a change as Rogue's DISSOLUTION OF ETERNITY pack did for QUAKE. It has a solid, if unin- spired, single-player game and some good multiplayer enhance- ments. The hard-core QUAKEhead who downloads everything may be disappointed. But overall, this is a decent pack for the middle-of-the- road QUAKE II fan. K'iVI Thierry “Scooter" Nguyen is also playing INDEPENDENCE WAR, HALF- LIFE: DAY ONE, SHOGO: MOBILE ARMOR DIVISION, and STARCRAFT. v.computergaming.e COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 #Ti?l im Ui iplm Ht Mm issmlt Micl$ litBli? FUSIBMAM FlAMETHmiB SFCIHtFCBIHTHBL SYSTEM with realtime fractal encryption keeps your dataiink untraceabie and unbreakable. Drive with confidence. 2X BABAR EBIBEB MISSILE lABAICBER FBSIBIY PBWER PIAIVT delivers smooth running power at temperatures up to 700 degrees Kelvin ARMBREACmS of renewable ceramic polymers protect your vehicle from adverse conditions such as plasma bolts and autocannon fire. ElECTRBMAEmiC REPBISBR BRIBE with gyrostabilization and inertial dampers goes from 0 to tSOkm/h in 0.0014 seconds The Argus Overlord Armor Trend netmagazine’s 2219 Assault Vehicle of the Year All Nataka Remotely Piloted Vehicles ship with version 56.9 of BattleHelper, Nalaka's award-winning operating system. Some vehicles not exactly as shown. All performance specifications given for unencumbered vehicles in 1 G of gravitational force and 101.9 kPa of barometric pressure unless otherwise indicated. BattleHelper is a registered product of the Nataka Corporate Empire. Unauthorized use of the BattleHelper name is a violation of applicable treaties and will be met with military force. Gunmetal" and Mad Genius Software" are trademarks of Mad Genius Software Ltd. MAD GENIUS Go to #130 @ www.computergaming.com/lnfolink REVIEW • SHOCO: MOBILE ARMOR DIVISION Let's Go Shogo! Monolith's Slightly Premature Anime Shooter Is One Patch Short of Mightiness by Thierry Nguyen I magine the image of mas- sive, mighty mecha wreak- ing destruction and carnage to the sound of a young woman singing an upbeat, Japanese pop song. Chances are you'll think one of two things; 1) What was the game design team smoking? or 2) Boy, Monolith really captured the flavor of anime! Regardless of your reaction, you're bound to find SHOGO: MOBILE ARMOR DIVISION to be a truly unique shooter. Tenchi Sanjuro in Love Unlike a lot of first-person shooters, SHOGO's single-player storyline matters. It's no filler sum- mary like in UNREAL or QUAKE, it's more like JEDI KNIGHT's story in how it blends tightly with the gameplay.The anime-inspired computer' 1 GAMIN^ WORLD I APPEAL: Anime fans, action gamers looking for a differ- ent style of shooter. PROS; Good bal- ance between per- formance and visu- als; great anime feel; well-done weapons; great levels when you’re in an MCA. CONS: Shipped with semibroken Al and lackluster multiplayer; weapon balance needs tweaking. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS; Pentium 166 or bet- ter, Windows 95, 32MB RAM, BOMB hard-drive space, 4x CD-ROM, DirectXB- compatible sound and video cards. 3D SUPPORT: Direct3D. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: TCP/IP, LAN, and serial connection, all through DirectPlay (2-1 6 players). Price: S49.95 Publisher: Woroliih Ptoduciions Kirkland, WA (42S) 739-1500 back-story is enormous, involving rebellion, terrorism, and really big robots. And like good anime, it fea- tures several characters caught in a tangle of relationships. A little background: You're currently dating Kathryn, the sister of your presum- ably dead girlfriend, Kura. Both are the daughters of your commanding officer, Admiral Akkaraju. Got it? Anime fans will appreciate the par- allels to the Hikaru/Misa relation- ship in Macross. The rest of the story unfolds in cut-scenes. Unlike JEDI KNIGHT, they're not FMV filler populated UNREAL). The biggest boost was seeing it run fast and fluidly on a Pentium 133 acting as a deathmatch server. Sure, it was low detail, but even so, there were neat visual tricks. You may need to adapt to the character models because they look more like Speed ffacerthan QUAKE II, but it was nice to see the level of detail in action (seeing the model get more com- plex as you get closer to it). Lighting (both colored and dynamic) and shadows are well done, and even the chrome on your guns looks slick. Full Metal Jacket, Shoes, and Pants On foot, the gameplay is a lot like that of your traditional FP5, It's when you get into Mobile Combat Armor (MCA) that the game takes on a different feel. On foot, you've got your standard John Woo pistols, machine guns, and rockets, but the MCAs have explosives, explosives, and more explosives. Their arsenal can best be described as "What fla- vor do you want your rocket in?" You have weapons that spew out "drunk" missiles, mines that attach themselves to their target, and even an energy weapon that has the same effect as a nuke. The one flaw with the weapons is that they're a bit unbalanced by a sniper rifle that reloads too fast — both in MCA and on foot. The coolest addi- tion gameplaywise is the Critical Hit system, which rewards you for hitting a weak spot by both dealing more damage and boosting your health by 25 percent. Not only are the weapons hefty, so are the MCAs. You can feel the with bad actors; these scenes use the in-game engine and voiceovers to sustain a consistent look throughout the game. This allows more cinematic scenes to be packed in the levels (not just in between), and that's not counting all the dialogue that gets displayed at the top of the screen. Even when loading levels, you get to read nice, concise paragraphs sum- marizing the current situation. LithTech: Power in a Pretty Package One thing for which Monolith deserves congratu- lations is for creat- ing a good, seal- ad/e 3D engine. My Pentium 166 runs QUAKE II only ade- quately and UNREAL just chokes it. So it was refreshing to see SHOGO run fairly fast in medium detail (which is higher than QUAKE II but lower than COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 .i.computcrgaming.c size as you stomp on foot soldiers and tanks in the city levels. This is anime, so MCAs move like humans, a la the Macross Valkyries, not like the hefty tanklike motions of BattleTech. And like Valkyries, these MCAs can trans- form between bipedal and vehicu- lar mode. You can pilot four differ- ent ones, which vary in speed and durability (see the "Multi MCA Mayhem" sidebar). Also, the variety of enemies is better in the MCA levels. On foot, you essentially have only two types of enemies: armored and unarmored. At least the MCA lev- els give you the foot soldiers, dif- ferent varieties of MCAs, and even tanks and rocket launchers. The level design is pretty straightforward, focusing on play- ability and practicality instead of flashy architecture. There isn't the awe-inspiring architectural eye candy of UNREAL, and the way the levels are laid out feels somewhat pletely FUBAR, but it tends to be easy. Also, I got to play deathmatch...ovGra LAN. I couldn't get an Internet game running, but early signs are that Internet games will be like pre-QUAKEWORLO QUAKE, in that it's a lag-filled fragfest. Only straightforward death- match is available, and while it doesn't sound thrilling, I found myself more realistic, although there are exceptions: Sometimes you wonder why there are so many really big buttons for the MCAs to push. Shogo a No-Go This is where things get a bit ugly. For one thing, the SHOGO Al isn't really broken, it's just really uneven. The general Al is similar to QUAKE II and even Monolith's pre- vious shooter, BLOOD, in that the Al has really good aim and itchy trig- ger fingers. Enemies will chase you and alert others to your presence. The catch is that there are times when the Al attacks on/yif injured. Unfortunately, a bug slipped through: A significant number of enemies were flagged with this idle mode so, at least three to five times per level, you can stand five feet in front of someone and kill without retaliation. Or you can shoot an enemy and get no response from the enemy right next to him. Gameplay isn't com- Multi MCA Mayhem Here's a quick guide to the different MCAs and how they handle for multiplayer purposes. The fastest but frailest of the four, this is the MCA of the lurking one. If you favor hit- and-run tactics and can rea- sonably dodge incoming fire, you may like theAkuma. Akiima One of the midline MCAs, this is the basic, all-purpose MCA for the player who isn't picky. If you want a mecha that does everything well without any of the tradeoffs that come with doing one thing extremely well, this is the one for you. The other midline MCA but with the advantage of a faster vehicle mode than the Enforcer, The Enforcer's vehicle handles better, but the raw speed of the Ordog's vehicle rivals the Akuma's. If you want a midline MCA that can make quick get- aways, get this one. This is the big, hefty MCA. It's slow, but it can take more punishment than any of them. If you value raw durability over speed, you can't go wrong with this hulking menace. surprised by how much fun it was (in an MCA). On foot. QUAKE is still king, but the MCAs give you great weaponry and the toughness to dish it out and take it. Monolith has taken these issues to heart and is promising a point release that will clean up the Al and make the multiplayer game more efficient. What this means is that SHOGO was slightly rushed to stores. Other than the technical issues that are being covered by the patch, I only have minor issues with the game. What we ultimately have is a game that could have gotten an Editors' Choice had it been tested thoroughly. By the time you read this, however, the patch should be out — assuming it's not vaporware (but I have some faith in Monolith). So, if you're willing to download a patch, you'll find SHOGO a shooter filled with lots of style, substance, and charm. Those without Internet connections or who just don't like patches will find a game that could have been great, but was premature in birth, K'i'.'J Thierry "Scooter" Nguyen watches a whole lot of anime with mecha and wants someday to pilot either the EVA-01 or the VF21 Valkyrie. ■ ^iputcrgaminy COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 t ©1998 Ripcord Games. ©1998 Micro Forte Ply. Limited. All Rights Reserved. Enemy InFeslotion is o trademark oF Panasonic Interactive Medio Company. Cioekworks and Micro Forte are trodemarks of Micro Forte Pty. Limited. ■ ' Ali other trademorks are the properly oF their respective companies. in the search for life Only one will survive Imacjine the Earth. Ravaged by famine. Unable to sustain life. Reliant upon plants and minerals harvested on a distant world. J W Imagine a race of vicious aliens. .1 . 1 1 W ili T F ill Hurtling through space. Desperately searching tor nourishment. Willing to stop at nothing to get it. Two species. Determined to survive. Two worlds. Destine to collide. Get ready lor the most intense real-time battle in the universe. Blast your way through 5 colonial bases and 50 brain-crunching scenarios-all in isometric, retina-frying 3D. Choose from 5 different types of characters, each with its own special function, and a random arsenal of weapons. Go it alone or team up with your friends over the internet. If you made it through Starcraft ", it's time to meet the real enemy. Go to #096 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink For ordcnitq inforniation call 1-R88797-5867. Pre-order at your local retailer toclayl PSIISSOIIM www.ripcordqaiecs.COi't'i Orjeord REVIEW • KLINCON HONOR GUARD Way of the Warrior Joining the Kiingons Isn't Quite the Honor It Should Be by Elliott Chin K iingons and 3D shoot- ers are a match made in Skorvakor, right? After all, who can argue with a 3D shooter based on the violent Kiingons? The best of the breed are the Klingon Honor Guards, highly trained and tasked with the protec- tion of the Klingon High Council, but recently, treachery has entered the ranks of these once incorrupt- ible warriors, With the Klingon High Council all but destroyed by an assassin's bomb, the Honor Guard has sworn a blood oath to exact swift vengeance on the mas- terminds of this traitorous plot. As the epitome of Honor Guard computer' 1 csaming] WORLD I APPEAL Star Trek fans hungfy for blood; 3D shooter fans looking for a more fleshed-out story and atmos- phere, PROS; Excellent premise; gets better as you progress: some good visual effects; some well-made levels; good tie-in between missions and story. CONS: Uneven level design; too much key hunting: not enough variety in monsters. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, Windows 95/98, 32MB RAM, true-color graphics for 24-bit color, 4x CD-ROM, 250MB hard-drive space; supports DirectX-compatible sound card. 30 SUPPORT: 3Dfx, PowerVfi. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: LAN (2-8 players), Internet (2-4 players). Price; 549,95 Publisher: MicroProse Alameda, CA (510) 864-4550 training, it's your job to hunt down the ringleaders of the plot for your Honor Guard mentors. It sounds like the perfect setup for a stellar first-person shooter — full of gore, Klingon expletives. and charred body parts — but MicroProse's relative inexperience in 3D shooters hobbles what might have been an excellent action game. First Contact KLINGON is a game that gets better the more you play it. Forget the cheesy slide show intro and the first two levels. It's only once you get off the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS and start chasing Gowron's would-be assassins across space that things get interesting. You'll trace the killers to the icy caverns of penal colony Rura Penthe, which, in contrast to the drab walls and textures of the first levels, is bright and eye-catching. There's even a prison riot there to spice things up, although for all the noise generated by the riot it could have been a lot bigger. Later levels include the pleasure spot Qualor 2, where you'll see some sparsely populated bars and clubs, an Andorian space station, a polished Andorian tradeship, a crimson-hued Klingon cruiser, and the ruined moon of Praxis. The level design on the later levels is pretty good, with hangar bays in the space station and sickbays and warp cores aboard ships. The story and briefings that propel each mission are well thought out, but unfortunately, almost all the missions are marred by constant key hunting. KLINGON calls its keys by various names — genetic key, digital palm print, holographic retinal projector — but they’re all keys nonetheless. Most of the time, I was run- ning through levels trying to find that one, tiny key hidden among similar tex- tures to open that last door, While some levels were nicely designed with logical paths toward mission objectives, others were confusing, I lost lots of time trying to figure out what to do on the space station level since there was no indication that I could walk off the path of the outer hull and scale the steep walls of the station to a rooftop elevator, Many times, because the computers or down- load terminals all looked the same from room to room, 1 had no idea I was in the mission objective room until the mission-ending screen popped up. One other thing that disappointed me was that the Fek'lhr mission has a time limit courtesy of a ticking bomb; yet I was still alive after the counter ran out. Know Your Enemy.. .and Your Bat'leth In KLINGON most of what you fight are Kiingons and Andorians in a limited number of guises. Some Kiingons look better than others, but they all just become cannon fodder toward the end of the game. There was no sense that I was really ramping up toward more powerful enemies (like the way I moved from scrags to death knights to shamblers in QUAKE). I can forgive the fact that all the Kiingons and Andorians looked the same since there isn't supposed to tCOMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 /.computcrgamiiig.< be much variation in military dress, but it would have been nice if they had ultra-elite guards or fantastic alien monsters. The Nausicaans (bothersome weaklings) and Lethians (impressive, ethereal attackers) do spice up the action. Another disappointment is the lack of large, menacing beasts — aside from the gargantuan Ro'PeD. This rock-hurling brute is imposing, but he only appears on Rura Penthe. Nothing quite his size or demeanor appears for the rest of the game. The other non- humanoid creatures are the guard beast, the Targ, and the Tar Chop. What are they? A white dog. a Klingon pig, and a scorpion. Yawn. In fairness, the water creatures are very nice — quick, sleek barracudalike monsters with rows of teeth and a tendency to attack in packs. Enemy Al isn't that great. Some enemies just stand still, and I had to push them before they would attack. There are some winners and some losers in KLINGON’s formida- ble arsenal. The disrupter pistol and rifle are serviceable, but look utterly uninspired — an unfortu- nate by-product of MicroProse's obligation to faithfully represent Star Tre/r weaponry. I switched to the assault disrupter as soon as I acquired it and kept using it for most of the game. Its secondary- fire mode disintegrates opponents, turning them into red ashes. The ding pach spits a spinning disc that chews apart its target before returning to the gun. Very nice. Strangely, the SIth har blaster, a late game weapon, was effective at taking out Klingons with one shot but couldn't even dent certain tar chops. The final weapon is a BFG-like cannon that can also create a mini black hole as Its secondary attack. Two melee weapons round out your arsenal and are among the cooler weapons in KLINGON. Engine Ups and Downs The graphics, tike everything else In this game, are a mixed bag. Beginning levels are boring and monotonous, but the later levels — from Rura Penthe to the Andorian ship to the Klingon cruisers — are much more impres- sive. Most enemies look good, but get close to them and you'll find they aren't any- where near as detailed as the beautiful creatures in UNREAL. MicroProse says it opted for this lower texture detail to boost frame-rate. For the most part the game runs along at a nice clip, but in some areas the game would chug along before coming back to full speed. This was on a Pentium II 400 with 64MB of RAM. Some of KLINGON’s special effects are very nice, most notably the transparent Lethians and their translucent balls of blue energy. Similarly striking is the shimmering energy in the various warp cores and clear tubes throughout the levels. Nearly as impressive are the death scenes for zero-G kills — zap an enemy and he'll float away, bubbles of blood spinning around him. However, the explosions aren't spectacular and the blood is too blurry. The detail on objects also suffers greatly at extreme close-ups. I encountered some clip- ping problems, the most egregious being a dead Klingon that spun backward and became halfway lodged into a wall. Multiplay isn't as fast as in QUAKE II. but level design for the multiplayer levels is pretty good and the frame-rates aren't too bad. Still, before rushing into KLINGON deathmatch, remember that KLINGON uses the UNREAL engine, so look for the latest patch. MicroProse was onto something with KLINGON HONOR GUARD, and the end result is a fairly good game with a split personality. The great premise starts out slowly but improves the longer you play. Some weapons and monsters aren't too hot, others are pretty cool. The problem is that it could have been much better. Still, if Star Trek and shooter fans can forgive the game's plodding start and key- hunting mission design, KLINGON HONOR GUARD coulcl provide a rewarding, if uneven, experience. Elliott Chin has read almost every StarTrek book published, butstill likes classic Trek the best. Basic Weapons Training The dagger and Bat'leth fiy in an arc Remember this when using them as throw* ing weapons. /Urn high and only throw at medium range to short range. disruptor, and grenade iaundier ali require reioad- ing each time you swhdi between primary and secondary fire modes. Even when you return to a weapon after putting it away, it won’t default to primary firing mode but rather will remain at the setting you left it in. The assault disrupter is a powerful weapon, but has a short range. Its more powerful secondary attack has an even shorter range. For long-range sniping, use the secondary attack of the disrupter rifle or tire rocket launcher (shown below). ROCKET LAUNCHER IVvo undocumented powep ups you'll find are the blood wine and bowl of gagh. Blood wine increases your attack damage^ and gagh gives you 100 bonus health. v.computerg.iming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • TRESPASSER Veloci-Craptor TRESPASSER Is Knee-deep in Something and It Sure Isn 't Fun by Robert Coffey s bad as genetically re- engineering dinosaurs turned out to be in Jurassic Park movies, TRESPASSER definitely tops them in the "good idea gone horribly wrong" department. A first-person shooter that desper- ately wants to be an adventure game, TRESPASSER is an ugly mish- mash of uncertain identity, crip- pled by ill-conceived ideas, a tech- nically promising engine that screws up gameplay, and more horrendous glitches than 10,000 men could shake 10,000 sticks at. Be Scared, Be Very A-scared The game's premise is simple. You, as a young woman named Anne, find yourself stranded on a APPEAL: Gamers who value tedium and frustration over gameplay and fun. PROS: Physics- based engine isn't too shabby; it’s mercifuiiy short. CONS: Game engine complicates play; ridiculously high system requirements yet is still sluggish; convoluted controls; graph- ic glitches; simplistic puzzles/key hunts. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, Windows 95/98, 32MB RAM, 120MB hard-drive space, 4x CD-ROM,1 MB video card; supports Windows-compatible sound card 3D SUPPORT: Most Direct3D cards. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: None. Price: $49.95 Publisher: Electronic Arts Redwood City, CA (650) 628-1900 dinosaur-infested island and quite reasonably decide you'd be better off back home. You explore the island, searching through the rub- ble for a phone, a radio, anything to contact the outside world. Gamers expecting a first-person shooter with T-Rex's and Raptors providing the targets will be the first (but definitely not the last) to be disappointed, since TRESPASSER is no run-and-gun shooter. Instead, it tries really hard to be an adven- ture game, emphasizing puzzle solving and exploration. It's not that either. So what is it? It's thud- dingly dull and totally frustrating, that's what. Operating under the misguided notion that an action- packed, thrilling shooter was some- thing to be avoided, Dreamworks barely sprinkles dinosaurs across the gaming landscape, keeping your weapon supply woefully low so that often the best course of action is to avoid action. Doesn't that sound like fun? This wouldn't be so bad if TRESPASSER lived up to its self- deluding high ideals and served up loads of challenging puzzles in a rich and fascinating environment that rewarded exploration, but it doesn't — some levels are puzzle- free. Most of the puzzles involve stacking boxes into impromptu staircases so you can reach higher areas. When a new puzzle does crop up — like lobbing stones to make a teetering plank create an accessible ramp — expect to do it at least three times in a row. Engine Trouble Solving the same puzzle repeat- edly is bad enough, but it's even more maddening thanks to the game's engine and interface. A tangle of keyboard commands lets you raise and lower your arm as well as bend and turn your wrist. All these options do is make aiming that occasional gun less precise. thus ensuring a quick death by dino. And while the physics-based engine is commendable in creating an environment full of objects to be pushed and picked up (but not destroyed), it makes dealing with those endless box staircases a repetitive grind — boxes fall every time you breathe on them. The engine is also slow. Move- ment is never fast, but once a few objects or creatures start filling up the screen, man alive, does the frame rate tank. And this is on a Pentium II 300 with 3D accelera- tion and scads of RAM — who knows what it'd be like on the game's alleged minimum system (a Pentium 166). This slowness is especially aggravating when you're traversing a huge enclosure, futilely searching for a white keycard. The list of bad design elements and botched technology goes on and on. Collision detection is a joke, letting your character get snagged on walls and in bridges, and letting dinosaurs get tangled in fences until they die. Since you can only store one item on your body, you must always carry a gun in your hand, further bogging down the frame-rate. Your charac- ter can lift crates with one hand but can't make simple jumps and leaps. You die frequently, but there's no quicksave or quick-load option. Level transitions are seam- less, but you lose all your weapons when a new level loads. Dinosaurs may inexplicably freeze and not respond. With more problems too numer- ous to list, the brevity of the game is most noteworthy. Not because it's the most egregious gaffe, but because its mere eight levels ensure that anyone unfortunate enough to play TRESPASSER can make the hurting stop sooner than most games. MVJ Robert Coffey has actually dreamed about playing TRESPASSER. He's not sleeping much. COMPUTER^ GAMING _ WORLD CO/VIPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 ^.compiitorsartiing.c Max EPIC BATTLES OE STRATEGY AND HONOR Returning to her besieged homeland, Kittherine, Queen of Enroth, must rally Erathia’s armies in a fight for survival. In a savage series of battles for control of Erathia, you command the land’s greatest heroes and fiercest creatures in Queen Katherine’s struggle to restore her family’s reign, and rid the land of enemies. ♦ Over 20 campaign scenarios told from 3 different perspectives, plus dozens of custom stand alone, and multiplayer maps. ♦ Enhanced multiplayer capabilities allow you to plan and implement detailed combat and exploration strategies. ♦ Detailed character development with 16 new Heroes, and hundreds of spells, skills and artifacts. ♦ More than 100 unique combat units all 3D'rendcred in High color detail. i, ii"!. X www.heroes3.coni I'I'IH'I Ik- ^nOCompniiv. All riylits rt>i.Tvcd. New World CoiiiiHiiiiig, Heroes of Mipiil and Mogie, jitnl ilieir respeetive logos, lire inidenuirks or regislered irodemnrksof'l'he 3110 Comi.onv in theU-S- and/or oilier coiimries. All other trademarks tiiid/or trade ntiines belong to their respeetive owners. New World Computing is a division of The 3110 Comptinv. 'SeptcmliertssueofCoinpulerCjamiiig World. Top IllOChan Go to #093 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink 3D0 REVIEW • RETURN FIRE 2 Third Time's a Charm You'll Need a Little Help From Your Friends to Really Enjoy RETURN FIRE 2 by Scott A. May O ne of the first great 32- bit console games gets a 3D multiplayer makeover with the release of RETURN FIRE 2 from Ripcord Games. Sure, its mix of thun- derous action and strat- egy are simplistic by today's real- time strategy standards, but hey, that's exactly the point. Led by veteran game designer Baron Reichart K.Von Wolfsheild, Silent Software's original RETURN FIRE became something of a cult hit on both the 3DO and PlayStation back in 1996, Set amid a wartime motif, the game's premise is about as fundamental COMPUTER CSAMIMC -WORLD APPEAL Multiplayer action fans. PROS: Excellent multiplayer sup- port; spiffy3D graphic; intense action: new vehi- cles and strategies to explore. CONS: Single-player mode can get repetitive; confusing control setup; meager manual; split-screen modes strain your peepers. DIFFICULTY: intermediate, REQUIREMENTS; Pentium 133 with 3D acceleration (Pentium 200 without), Windows 95/98, 16MB RAM, 1 75MB hard-drfve space, 4x CD-ROM, mouse 1 6-bit sound card; supports joysticks (including force feedback) and gamepads. 3D SUPPORT: 3Dfx, OpenGL. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: LAN and Internet (2-1 6 players), modem and serial (2-8 players), and split-screen mode on one PC (2-4 players). Price: $<19.95 Publisher: Ripcord Games Santa Clara, CA 797-5867 ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIE RETURN FIRE 2's New airborne units let you engage adrenaline*pumping dogfights iike these. as they come — be the first to cap- ture your opponent's flag and return it to your base camp, it was simple, explosive, and very addic- tive. It was only a matter of time until Von Wolfsheild and company caught the 3D bug. In RETURN FIRE 2 the basics of gameplay remain the same; only the eye candy has changed. Actually, that's not entirely true. A lot of important things have been expanded, tweaked, and added to the game, beginning with its amazing assortment of multiplayer modes. DECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY The Green arm/s base gets a radicai face-iift as his adversaries soften him up before stealing his flag. The More the Merrier Now up to four players can compete on a single machine, dividing the screen into as many as four active sections. This quartered display is surprisingly clear and smooth, dipping the frame-rate minimally, but you'll probably need a 1 9-inch monitor to keep your eyes from bugging out. Contrary to the diagram on the game's open- ing menu, two-player split-screen games are divided horizontally, not vertically. Other new multiplayer options include battles of up to 16 people over a LAN or the Internet (free on MPlayer). Finally, using a combi- nation of two PCs and split-screen mode, up to eight players can compete using either a direct (serial) or modem link. Here's the gist of the first-person gameplay: Battles take place on islands, with varied landscape including desert, jungle, and urban terrain. Depending on the number of competi- tors and level of play, fortifications dot each island. Flag Towers guard the colored banner for each side. To grab the flag, players must first destroy the tower, then drive a jeep in to capture and return the flag to home base. The first to do so wins the game. Six different vehi- cles are at your dis- posal, depending on the island. Tanks, jeeps, and ASVs are deployed from your underground bunker. Tanks are used to pound or ram obstacles and fortifications. The ASV, though less armored than tanks, can launch a missile barrage at long range and also lay mines in the paths of unwary ground vehicles. Jeeps are basically good for one thing; nabbing the flag and getting the hell out of Dodge. Though equipped with machine guns, the jeep's main defense is its speed — although control can be tricky. I found it too easy to get stuck amid the rubble. So make sure you clear all debris from the flag area before hopping in your jeep. New to the game are jets, heli- copters, and PT boats, all launched from your aircraft carrier (if applic- able to the scenario). The jet is pri- marily used for long-range recon- naissance but is equipped with cannons and missiles. Helicopters are great for fast access to remote sections of an island. Armed with rockets and cannons, they also do considerable damage. Finally, PT boats give you access to water- ways, including your enemy's back door. PT boats are armed with tor- pedoes and cannons. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD * JANUARY 1999 ii.computergaming.com Available at; =^CTI>On:CS WirtWivsMT' Winow^ P R I S E MTINC YAMAHA V N^PSStFORCE ‘ IS^A^ We know the sound of alien carnagtJ splattered around the walls of a multi- channeled surround sound movie theater gets your adrenal glands pumping. Now you can get that kind of intensify right out of your PC with the Yamaha WaveForce 1 92 XG PCI Soundcard. 3D positional audio, downloadable sounds, an advanced wavetable synthesizer, incredible sound effects, 676 sounds + 21 drum kits and easy installation make destroying entire alien civilizations a full on blast. For the best in sound quality, get the WaveForce 192 XG. As for the monitor... youVe on your own. @YAMAHA vnn\Tn .'llL >L,' l -i ) For free brochure please coll {800)8?1-6414 ext. 4215. www.yjmoha.con ©1998 Yomoho Corporoiion of America, RO. Box 6600, Bueno Pork. CA 90622 6600 tiolu jnd Wjvefofce .are icgwcied irjdenmks o1 Yjiiuhj {otpor. Go to #101 ® www.computergamlng.com/infolink ...and other fine retailers. REVIEW • RETURN FIRE 2 Wet and Wild These new vehicles don't just add variety to things that go boom, they also open up whole new areas of gameplay, namely, the sea and the sky. Dogfights and sea battles can be quite entertain- ing in "rogue" style multiplayer games, though the flight (and float) models are simplistic at best. In team mode, players can even stage an all-out attack on an oppo- nent’s aircraft carrier. It takes per- sistent pounding to sink a carrier, but when you do, the fireworks are spectacular. Plus, your opponent then loses all carrier-based vehicles for the rest of that game. There are plenty of other compli- cations and tactics, too, like pene- trating walled fortresses, eliminat- ing automated defense turrets, and avoiding decoy flag towers. Also keep in mind that while you're busy locating enemy flags, the ene- mies are doing the same. As in the original, the computer's Al is a tenacious devil, even at medium skill levels. If you get too far ahead, the computer will abandon its flag hunt and hunt you down. HOW DO I DO THAT? The control setup in RETURN FIRE 2 IS extensive, but needlessly complicated and poorly documented. SEA BIRD A helicopter, one of several new vehicles in RETURN FIRE 2, prepares to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Since only the nearly defenseless jeep can carry the flag, it becomes a prime target — typically destroyed with a single missile. At higher skill levels other resources come into play, including fuel depots, power plants, muni- tions dumps, and radar installa- tions — each with its own primary, secondary, and tertiary stations and substations. For example, knocking out a primary radar site disables all intelligence updates. Destroying fuel or munitions dumps prevents the enemy's ground vehicles from refueling or rearming. Instead of the overhead view of the original, players now com- mand multiple perspectives, including first-person, chase, and three-quarter overhead. The view you choose depends on the vehicle in question and the current objec- tive. For example, first-person works best in the tank when aim- ing the turret but is a disadvan- tage in the jeep when you need as wide a perspective as possible With more than 30 maps, each containing one or more islands, there's plenty of variety. RETURN FIRE 2 is best played against other people since single-player games quickly tend to lose their luster. The computer Al is consistently chal- lenging — but it's also predictable. Supporting 3Dfx, Glide, OpenGL, and DirectX software ren- dering, the game's 3D graphics are impressive and simi- lar to — if not quite as good as — those in Rage's INCOMING. Visual highlights include the fiery explosions, variable density smoke, wave effects, and detailed vehicle texture map- ping. Extensive setup screens let you tweak myriad game- play options, includ- ing vehicle damage. hat good is age and experience if you can't spread wisdom around like fertilizer? That said, gather I 'round, kids, and learn a little video game history: Most action-game addicts I remember the original RETURN FIRE, which was hastily ported to I Windows 95 from the 3DO and I PlayStation consoles. Many of I today's gamers, however, aren't aware that RETURN FIRE was actually a remake of a cult j Amiga game called FIRE POWER, designed by Silent Software and released in 1987 by visionary publisher Microlllusions. And the creator of FIRE POWER and lead designer for Silent Software? None other than (Baron) Reichart K.VonWolfsheild of RETURN FIRE and RETURN FIRE 2 I fame. Practice makes perfect. Among FIRE breaking innovations was modem-to-modem multiplayer gaming. Chugging along at a whopping 1,200 bps, modem gaming at the time was relegated to nonaction games like chess and turn-based wargames. FIRE Power was one of the industry's first real-time, remote multiplayer action games, a feat Von Wolfsheild would later repeat with TURBO, the first modem rac- ing game (never released and quite a collector's item). SPLIT PERSONALITY RETURN FIRE 2's splH-saeen mode lets two players fight on one PC and lets you see a base bombing from the perspective of the bomber as well as the "bombee." initial stocks, sound, and video. In a throwback to its console days, the game allows you to listen to your own music CD while playing the game. The controller setup screen is particularly detailed — to the point of utter confusion. It takes time to learn how to configure controls — either with keyboard, mouse, or joystick — no thanks to Ripcord's inept user manual, which offers the gamer no help at ail. Overall, RETURN FIRE 2 offers instant arcade gratification and long-term multiplayer appeal. Played solo, however, it rapidly loses appeal. Throw away the bells and whistles and you do have old- fashioned, rock-solid gameplay. The best things never change. LK'LJ Scott A. May is currently stuck in retro mode, playing SENTINEL RETURNS, MONTEZUMA'S RETURN, and LODE RUNNER 2. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 I’.computergaminB.c REVIEW • F-16 MULTIROLE FIGHTER/MIG-29 FULCRUM Thin Air NovaLogic's Sim Duo Is a Bargain, but Gameplay Is Superficial by Tom Chick emember when a drunken Randy Quaid learned to pilot an F-18 over the course of a single afternoon in Independence Dayl If you want to relive that experience, check out Novalogic's F-16 MULTIROLE FIGHTER and MlG-29 FULCRUM sims, which are available bundled together for the price of a single sim (for an unspecified time). These sims are definitely an easy entry into fighter combat, but they may leave you wishing for something more substantive. At first glance there are some impressive graphics in both F-16 MRFand MlG-29 FULCRUM. The computer' 1 APPEAL; Novice flight-sim gamers who don't mind blowing up a lot; gamers who are looking for aerial deathmatches. PROS: Easy learn- ing curve; exciting, free online play; smooth and detailed graphics. CONS; Overly simplified flight model; redundant gameplay; shallow multiplayer missions; 3D support for 3Dfx cards only. DIFFICULTY: Easy. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 133, Windows 95, 16MB RAM, 313MB hard- drive space. 3D SUPPORT: 306: Glide. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: IPX, TCP/IP, serial, modem (2-16 players), NovaWorid Internet (2-1 28 players). Price: S44.9S Publisher: Novalogic Calabasas, CA (800) 8S8-1322 v.novalogic.com landscapes are drawn with vivid and detailed textures. The terrain elevations vary nicely, allowing for cat-and-mouse games among mountain ranges. The featured air- craft are sharply modeled with visi- ble weaponry and moving control surfaces. Other aircraft are a bit blocky but are sharp and colorful. Raptor Redux Under closer scrutiny, however, this graphics engine is similar to the one used in F-22 RAPTOR, with extra detail and smoothing thanks to 3Dfx acceleration. There's no Direct3D support, so owners of non-3Dfx cards must use the soft- ware mode, which looks great for a software engine but can't compare to hardware 3D. As with Novalogic’s earlier game, there's still an abrupt rendering limit that leads to mountains rising from the horizon as if they’d been called forth POPULOUS-style. The 3D virtual cockpits and reflective canopies are a great framework for the scenery. They offer an immersive sense of being wrapped in a bubble of glass and avionics. Unfortunately, this splen- dor is little more than interior dec- oration. There's no need to look at anything but the HUD and the god's-eye window in the corner of the screen; the MFDs and finely detailed gauges are almost entirely superfluous. Furthermore, some important parts of the HUD data don't work in the cockpit view. It's ironic that Novalogic sculpts a beautiful truG-3D cockpit and then features it in a game best played without it Actually, both games have fea- tures that will never be used. The radar modes in F-16 MRF are entirely redundant There are so few targets and the target designa- tion is so simple that it's ludicrous to imagine anyone actually need- ing to tinker with radar modes; all the information is integrated into the Attack Display and splashed onto the HUD anyway. TTie passive infrared search-and-track mode in MlG-29 FULCRUM is similarly use- less since it doesn't work. Lock onto an enemy plane and this "passive sensor” will still set off a warning in your target's cockpit. Zoom Zoom Zoom-a-Zoom Despite claims of authentic flight models, there are rudders here that defy physics, rocket boosters used for engines, a gliding capability of balsa wood models, and planes that hold their noses high and proud, even in a stall. Just for giggles, you can play Lunar Lander with your MiG. Cut the throttle while your plane is going vertical and control your fall by applying thrust until you gin- gerly crash tailfirst into the ground. You can count the concessions to real- ism on one hand. Drag is modeled for COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 v.computergaming.c vji (though the missiles in these games were toned '.m\ down in the first patdi, they still home in with all the tenacity of a six-year^old girt after a Beanie Baby. If you thought tire student loan agency was bad, try the busi* ness end of Novalogic's AMRAAMs. 'Rte patch, which is downloaded automatically when you connect to NovaWorld, will also make your life a little easier by adding a red line to the Attack Display. Hits tine connects the missile to your location in the center of the display. Zoom in the display and you'll get a dear picture of an incoming missile's distance and bearing. The best defense against these pests is several thousand . .. tons of God's good earth— a mountain. When a ■ •• ! missile is launched at you, try to duck behind : the nearest mountain or dive into a canyon. But since there's no way to determine the mis- ‘ _ site's relative altitude, this can be tricky: a ^ > laundi from on-high may clear any obstacles. The next best defense against missiles is speed. Put the missile at a right angle to your V'-..- : I ; aircraft, kick in the afterburners, and dive. If ■/ . • ’■ you have time to build up enough speed, the missile will sail right by— even if you're out of counter- measures. Forget the conventional wisdom of pulling a high- G turn at the last minute. In these games this will just slow you down and make you easier to hit MEET YOUR MAKER Evading missiles is extremely difficult to do in botii games. MOONLIGHTING The F-16 has a helpful LANTIRN targeting pod for night flight while the MiG-29 has to feel its way around. which you'll juggle limited munitions for each of the cam- paigns. The real chal- lenge comes once you've run out of AMRAAMs or R-77s and you have to go in harm's way with short-range missiles. An option for novices lets you "double" your weapons load, evok- ing the mental image of a fast-food drive- through. Pilot: "Uh, yeah, I'll take the 2,000-pound GBU, an order of HARMS, and a pair of Sidewinders. And I'd like some extra fuel with that." Crew chief; "Okay, do you want to double that order for an extra $4 million?" As long as you have enough longer-range missiles, most of the missions are a cakewalk. Your wingman, who only fires one mis- sile at a time, will be little help. Enemy planes don't actively evade, but some have a Mr. Magoo-like heavily loaded aircraft. Turns bleed airspeed (almost a moot point con- sidering the overpowered engines). There's less lift at higher altitudes, but the tiny combat arenas will rarely take you above 10,000 feet, One supposedly realistic touch demonstrates the developers' mis- guided stabs at the fine art of sim- ulation; Drop a single bomb from your F-1 6 and the aircraft will bank to one side to reflect the weight shift. Rather than demonstrating attention to detail, this shows dis- regard for contemporary fly-by- wire controls, which would auto- matically compensate for the aircraft’s imbalance. Novalogic's version of a spin is a similar touch of unreality. Pull up into a very slow 45-degree climb then stomp on the rudder, You'll gently drift to the ground like a leaf, spinning as furiously as a pin- wheel in a wind tunnel. This "fun with physics" wouldn't be as hard to swallow if it weren't for Nova- logic's continued insistence that its games are realistic sims. Note the first bulleted point on each box's feature list; "Authentic Lockheed Martin Approved Flight Model and Avionics" and "Au- thentic MiG-29 Flight Model" they scream in capital letters. As proof, the names and endorse- ments of Novalogic's hired consultants are splashed across the boxes, I can only imag- ine that these gentlemen are blushing furiously. It doesn't help that Novalogic chose to quote their Russian consultant in twisted idio- syncratic English. For Fun's Sake The most damning indictment I can offer of these titles is that they just aren't much fun. The gameplay is superficial, frustrating, and repet- itive. In spite of excellent scripted radio communications (with optional Russian for the MiG), the single-player missions are lifeless, offering very little variety or flavor. Shoot down your primary objec- tives and linger for secondary or bonus objectives if you want a higher score. This structure was con- trived in TIE FIGHTER, and it's still contrived in Novalogic's games. At least the campaign allows you to skip missions after you've tried them once — a welcome change from previous games in which missions you couldn’t complete were brick walls. There's a nicely flex- ible loadout screen on THE FULCRUM HAS LANDED The MiG's ability to rest on its afterburners may make you think the imperiled Russian space agency is testing the MiG-29 as a lunar landing module. ii.computergdniing.t COMPUTER GAMtNC WORLD « JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • F-16 MULTIROLE FIGHTER/AAIG-29 FULCRUM ability to fly blithely past missiles. The most significant challenge in these games is trying to stay out of the firing range of enemy planes and SAMs; once a missile is launched, the fun is quickly sucked out of the game. Missiles operate by some kind of alternate-reality physics, in that they seem to decide they're going to hit you 75 percent of the time no matter what you do {see sidebar, previous page). Short of a realistic flight model and a 300-page manual, I can't imagine a quicker way to turn off casual gamers than to send them down in flames every time a missile targets them. The games ship with a rough- hewn mission builder to extend their single-player life beyond the roughly 100 missions. But Nova- logic's Fixed Wing Mission Editor is more complicated than the mission builders in complex sims such as JANE'S F-1 5 and HORNET: KOREA. From the confusing treatment of vehicles and their waypoints as separate objects to the lack of graphical feedback on the map, it's obvious it hasn't been honed for ease of use. You'll find far less flexi- bility than in more user-friendly mission builders. And the docu- mentation isn't much help. TWO SPACE INVADERS MATING? No, it's an explosion, one of the less flat- tering aspects of the graphics engine. Aerial Deathmatches The bundle's excellent multi- player support on the free NovaWorld service comes close to redeeming the two sims, but they ultimately fall prey to their own flat gameplay. Often it's a matter of flinging AMRAAMs and Adders, camping out over the respawn air- fields, and dodging around the terrain. In fact, if you play on Novalogic's server, it feels like a typical QUAKE server, complete with 13-year-olds calling each other "punk bitches" and "losers." It's a lot of fun at first, but once you get into the groove, there's not much to do. Take off. Fire. Get shot down or land. Repeat as necessary. The Raptor Air War (RAW) games (Raptorless pending Novalogic's upcoming update of F-22 RAPTOR) provide slightly deeper gameplay. RAW divides players into two sides and allows pilots to choose a fighter or bomber loadout. Unfortunately, these hard-coded configura- tions exclude some of the more interesting air-to- ground toys. A tactical map screen gives a con- venient overview of the visible action against a numbered grid, so gamers can coordinate their efforts. The single-player missions would have been much more enjoyable if they could have been flown in this sort of coopera- tive multiplayer connection. Let Them Eat Cake There's no questioning the wis- dom behind the mainstreamed targeting of Novalogic's latest titles. After the astonishing suc- cess of its featherweight F-22 games, the company knows where the money is. If Wal-Mart shop- pers are buying DEER HUNTER at SI 9.95 a pop, they'll surely be willing to spring for a pair of flight sims in different colored boxes for about S40. Like the writers of romance novels, the producers of cloned sitcoms, and the directors of bloated-budget summer block- busters, Novalogic is giving the masses what they want. There's no doubt that new pilots will flock in droves to Novalogic's simplicity, but they'll have little frame of reference to know what they're missing. These games' repetitive gameplay, frus- trating combat, wasted detail, and disregard for their subject matter do not make for a good introduc- tion to the world of flight sims. Instead, FIGHTERS ANTHOLOGY and ISRAELI AIR FORCE would have offered new pilots ample variety; JOINT STRIKE FIGHTERS does an excellent job of making the details of jet combat accessible to begin- ners; there's gratifying and simple combat in RED BARON ll; and TEAM APACHE is a great example of an easy sim with an obvious affeaion for its subject. But the developers at Novalogic don't seem to have a proper appreciation for the mechanics, the machinery, or the miracle of flight. In fact, this is hardly flight. This is a hollow pageant with air- planes — as thin on substance as the air itself. Novalogic's bundle is like biting into a pretty cake and getting a mouthful of icing: sug- ary, insubstantial, and terribly unsatisfying. LK'i'.'J Tom Chick blames flight sims for dragging him into a life of com- puter gaming. His latest addictions are RED BARON 3D, JANE'S F-1 5. and anything with a Messerchmitt. THE MIG CHILL Perhaps because fliey're still in search of a warm water port, the other Russian campaigns take place in Africa and Southeast Asia. ^COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 'COinpulcrBaming.< •R't()lh>SI,viui>\TfJH www.luftwaffecommander.com mAFFE£0M tBlcBs ynuitaptfii;#' ■ tteslty-' TErrarKeAlliEdsforaes BS,ynu;%;niiEBiaDs iEiSiEDijiiftt arEES wrlhavEr SDiODDisijEarB; 0!BB!:ifflE|Tam. ClinDSBiframillllitmDdBs -r Ibdh rfiEltenBEB lB?E:E*|!EpiEncEil,plli!ts.w|iilE KNII!HT’S:Cl!DSS,|iPBviilK a WWIIiaiEEBinbat siniBlatiDn Bf' uitcoiTiiininiislngiaEEurBpr. i ^.UalrmitEd ExtErnal ^ viEws aad.lGidiffErEiit itrtErnal viEws of EEEliBirEraft. DpaamiE aircraft 'OdEr IDtdiffErEnf %tllE I jaiBci^iytttiidEtailEddntErrBrs SOisinjlB'playEr aiissiaas, j \ iOimultiplayEr. aiissipnp,. '4 EastamCapibatoptlcp, ' •• ’ bIIdws far aaJiiaitadLair. , i” i,- ' a cambatscEnErics. MadEai and SErial play far 2 players, netwarlt play far ap ta 10 players. Ealine play far ap fa ID players. Batb flight aiades avaiiable far all aialtiplayer aptiaasl Daer bD different 3-D aircraft exterinr nindels with histaricai aiarbings, paint schemes and fiight characteristics. TD DRDED: Visit yaar retailer nr call 1-800-716-8503 with Visa/MC (Nnrth America anly). ©1098 Sfraleglc Stmiilalions, Inc, All tifllils rescived. TIig SSI loflo Is n fcgistcred Itaflematli and Liilitvaffe Commander and tlio Diglinl Combat Series logo ate trademartis of Siralegic Simulalions, inc. All Ollier trademarks and rcgisteied Irademaiksare tile property of their raspecllve holders. Go to #234 @ www.comDuteraamina.com/Infolink REVIEW • COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR World War Toolkit Impressive in Its Own Right, Unsurpassed Expansion Potential Makes This Sim Shine by Denny Atkin fter a long drought with no newWWII flight sims, Microsoft's COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR (CFS) is the first drop in the upcom- ing deluge of prop simu- lations. Not only is it the first to hit the shelves, it's likely to be the last to head to the bargain bin. The game is not only a superb simulation of what it's like to fly a WWII fighter, it also features unpar- alleled expansion capabilities. Buy it now as a WWII Europe sim and you'll probably be able to play it later as a Pacific, North Africa, Russian Front, or even Korean sim. The key to this flexibility comes from the fact that CFS is an evolu- tion of the engine used in FLIGHT SIMULATOR 98 (FS98). However. CFS computer' i APPEAL: WWII air combat fans: FLIGHT SIM 98 pilots tired of playing nice. PROS; Amazing expandability; excellent mission design; top-notch flight modeling. CONS: No exterior plane damage; no wingman commands; shallow multi- player support. DIFFICULTY: Moderate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 133, Windows 95/98 or NT4/SP3, 16MB RAM {32 recommended), 230MB hard-drive space, 2x CD-ROM, SVGA graphics. 3D SUPPORT: Direct3D. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Modem, direct cable, IPX or TCP/IP LAN (2-255 players), MSN Gaming Zone (2-8 play- ers); 1 CD per player. Price: $54.95 Publisher; Microsoft RedmonJ.WA (800)426-9400 v.microsoft.com/games has little resemblance to its pacifist predecessor. Along with the requi- site guns, damage model and Al, Microsoft has pumped up the engine with a dramatically faster frame-rate, top-notch terrain graph- ics, working instruments in virtual cockpit view, and a host of other improvements. The result is a pro- gram that— with a couple of notable exceptions — feels like a whole new sim. Admiring the Scenery CFS includes five modes of play and multiplayer. Free Flight lets you take to the skies without fearing attack— think FS98 in much cooler planes. A full-featured Quick Combat mode lets you face wave after wave of various enemy planes over an airfield of your choice. You can select specific types of enemy craft to face, such as Axis Fighters, or let the computer toss a completely random mix of oppo- nents at you. The Training Missions introduce you to basic flight and air combat through AVI demonstra- tions and an interactive instructor. These are nicely done but would have been even more useful had the instructor demonstrated each maneuver once before turning over the controls. Many of the 25 missions in Single Mission mode have a 60s WWII action film feel. While some are historically accurate, others involve tasks such as destroying a staff car parked under the Eiffel Tower, killing a French resistance spy as he escapes in a speedboat, or shooting down a Hurricane over London as it performs an air show for Churchill. Finally, there's the cream of the simulation — Campaign mode. There are two campaigns, the Battle of Britain and the Battle for Europe, each of which can be flown from either the Allied or Axis per- spective. The 72 campaign missions are historical in nature and do an excellent job of conveying the changes in the air war from 1940 to 1 945. In the Battle of Britain missions, allies are primarily flying p£j Mlinh r'oiPsliJilJ.jj C ’ OMBAmiGHT Simulator's multiplayer mode is frustrating because it's almost very good. We played a number of aerial deathmatches with smooth performance and little waiping. In addition to LAN and TCP/IP support, you'll also be able to find other players on the MSN Gaming Zone. What's there in multiplayer mode works well. The problem is what's not there. You can't fly any of the sim's built-in missions with other players. You're limited to free-for-all and team deathmatches, which eventually become boring. Worse, even these modes aren't fully realized. With melees all starting at about 2,000 feet, combat almost always ends up as turning fights on the deck. In addition, while you can disable unlimited ammo (which we quickly did here at the CGIV offices since the QUAKE II crowd was I spraying .50 caliber bullets as though from a fire hose), once you run out of ammunition you I can't land and reload. Your only alternative is to crash into the ground, giving a kill credit to the I last person to get a bullet into you. This game desperately needs the ability to repair and reload I upon landing at an airfield. It's a shame that multiplayer isn't more thoroughly implemented ' because the ability to set up dogfights like Sabres vs. Sopwiths is a sim pilot's dream. COMPUTER GAAAING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 iputergammg.c STUKA AT 10 O'CLOCK! The virtual cockpit and padlock views are much improved from the version we previewed; both fea- ture working instruments. defense for various British cities and faaories. By the time you reach the latter Battle over Europe mis- sions, you'll be flying long-range, high-altitude escort missions for bombers attacking Germany. In general, the missions are his- torically accurate (save perhaps the appearance of Stukas during the Normandy invasion) and include random enemy waypoints, which keep them from being predictable during replay. Nicely done battle chatter helps add to the atmos- phere, but the lack of wingman commands (especially "help me!") sometimes makes you feel as though you're tagging along with the mission rather than being an integral part. I appreciate not having to refly missions over and over until suc- cess — after all, in real life many combat missions fail. But perhaps the designers should have at least required you to survive \o move on. There are incentives— in the form of medals and promotions — for successfully completing missions. Campaign missions are always flown from takeoff, but an optional "time jump" key lets you advance to the next waypoint if you want to jump right into the action. You can also accelerate time; but with no autopilot, it can be tricky to handle planes at 4x speed. You can’t skip out of a battle while the enemy is around. Model Flight Models It's in plane handling that CFS stands out. I'm not a big fan of the flight models in FS98 — handling is twitchy and trimming is imprecise. But CFS's developers have enhanced the flight modeling dra- matically here. The various planes handle very differently; Mustangs are supremely maneuverable but can easily get away from you; Hurricanes are nice, stable gun platforms. Get into a low-level turning flight and the realism of the flight model is likely to kill you early on: You'll bleed speed, and the lack of lift at a 90-degree bank will see you heading sidelong into the ground. The details are excel- lent — planes shudder when a flak burst explodes near them, early Merlin engines start to cut out when you push negative Gs or fly inverted, and control response is dramatically different at 3,000 feet versus 30,000 feet. There are some curious omissions, such as a lack of drop tanks. There are also some glitches, like bailouts that work at any altitude. Instrument panels are nicely ren- dered, and the virtual cockpits (with working instruments) look dramatically better than those in beta versions. Full AIR WARRlORAWARBIRDS-style keypad views, an enemy padlock, and a unique cone-shaped enemy direc- tion indicator do a very good job of keeping you situationally aware. The aircraft look good and when shot will shed parts in a good re- creation of gun camera footage. Damage modeling is well done, with dozens of systems that can affect performance when hit. Unfortunately, until a wing comes off, the only indicators of damage you'll see are excellent smoke and fire effects. It would be nice to be able to look out at your wing and see w/jy your damaged P-47 sud- denly handles like a pig. The Real Flight Sim Toolkit The lack of aircraft damage tex- tures is likely to maintain compati- bility with FS98 aircraft. In addition to the built-in flyable aircraft (Hurricane, Spitfire Mk. I and Mk. IX, Bf-109E and G, FW-190D, P-47D, and P-51D), you can also import the hundreds of shareware and freeware FS5, FS95, and FS98 air- craft and incorporate them in Quick Combat or custom missions. Planes you bring in are automatically equipped with guns and a generic damage profile; technical users will be able to edit these to more close- ly fit the specs of the real aircraft. You can also import FS98 scenery. With the ability to create custom missions (using Excel spreadsheets available on Microsoft’s Web site), you have an engine that can be used to re-create virtually anyWWII-era air battle. It's also very likely that the Internet community will respond quickly with some fascinating re-creations. Third-party add-ons, includ- ing a Pacific disk, are also in the works. Other than the lack of damage textures and underwhelming explo- sions, the CFS engine is a great foundation for add-on sims as well as a thoroughly enjoy- able experience out of the box. The terrain is the best we've seen in any flight sim, with unmatched photorealistic 3D tex- turing. And Microsoft has includ- ed a superb 184-page manual. Frame-rates are dramatically boosted from FS98. But don't believe the absurd Pentium 1 33 minimum spec listed on the box. You’ll need a minimum of a Pentium 200 to enjoy this sim, and it takes a Pentium II to make it shine. Denny Atkin has been living in COMBA T FLIGHT SIMULA TOR and betas of three other WWII sims. He may never fly jets again. v.computergaming.com COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY REVIEW • PRO PILOT '99 Flight Instructor in a Box A Great Practice Tool for Real and Wanna-be Pilots by John Nolan S ierra's original PRO PILOT was hyped as a Giant Killer that would totally blow away Microsoft's FLIGHT SIMULATOR. It failed miserably in that mis- sion, once again prov- ing that any program rushed to market will have glaring deficien- cies. The flight model was poor, graphics were average and slow with no 3D capability, and the ini- tial release required an immediate patch to debug the program. Fortunately. Sierra's Dynamix divi- sion didn't give up; after an over- haul, PRO PILOT '99 is definitely an improved program. COMPtlXER GAMfMC APPEAL General aviation student pilots; nonviolent flight simulator fans; enthusiasts seeking an inexpensive, well- executed training simulation. PROS: Superb introduction to civilian aviation; excellent training videos and flight handbook; runs well on slower sys- tems: great sounds; good air traffic con- trol audio. CONS; The "easy" flight model needs an additional "realistic" option; graphics are average for the genre with little detail in terrain. DIFFICULTY: intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 133, Windows 95/98, 32M8 RAM, ZOOMS hard-drive space, 4x CD-ROM, SVGA graphics. Recommended: Pentium (I 233MHz, 64MB RAM, 550MB hard-drive space, 8x CD-ROM, 3Dfx graphics card, joystick/yoke, throttle, rudder pedals, 30 SUPPORT: 3Dfx, Glide, MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: None. Price: $<19,99 Piiblistiei: Dynamix (a Sierra Company) Eugene, OR (541)343-0772 Voodoo Magic PRO PILOT '99 improves on the first release's mediocre visuals with support for 3Dfx Voodoo and Voodoo^ video cards. All of the usual 3D special effects, such as sun glare, unsurpassed cloud depictions, transparency, and image smoothing are here, with surprisingly fast frame-rates. Even a relatively modest machine, such as a Pentium 166 with 64MB of RAM and an original Voodoo card, has no trouble handling the video demands due to the lightly detailed landscapes. The entire United States, Western Europe, and a few cities in Canada are included in the ter- rain modeling using U.S. Geological Survey data to model elevation. Most of this terrain is pretty generic, with predominant- ly green landscapes: 35 major cities receive relatively "high- detail" environments. But "high- detail" is in the eye of the beholder. Most major landmarks are here; famous buildings, stat- ues, and stadiums are easily rec- ognized. But overall, there aren't many structures in these areas. The presentation is adequate but doesn't begin to approach the detail provided by the satellite imagery used by FLIGHT UNLIMITED 2. You're not going to locate the neighborhood gas sta- tion in any city in this sim. If you don't have a 3Dfx-based video card, the unaccelerated graphics show little change from the previous version's unremark- able visuals. You can still navi- gate and pick out landmarks, but the tiled appearance of the ter- rain is pretty unappealing. If it's precise, detailed sightseeing you're after, this isn't the place to look. Overall, the 3D graphics are average, and the unacceler- ated display is like stepping back in time. Still, either presentation is more than sufficient for the main focus of this program — flight instruction. Want Wings? There's no doubt that flight instruction is the strongest point of PRO PILOT '99. There's no other program that even comes close to delivering the detailed information available here. It begins with the excellent Flight Companion Manual, a good overview of the basic components of general avia- tion. With chapters on basic maneuvers, aircraft, navigation, and much more, this book is an easily understood asset to the beginning student pilot. Next, the animated video tutori- als of the 31 Ground Lessons (also carried over from the previous ver- sion) systematically take you through the various tasks required in flight training. Averaging about two minutes each, this hour's worth of information is time well spent and is interesting to boot. After this "ground training," you'll be ready for the new tutori- al flights. The National Association of Flight Instructors worked with Dynamix to develop 48 step-by- step "flying lessons" that take you through maneuvers and proce- dures in the various aircraft. Lessons are selected from a new pop-up Pilot's Operating Handbook that can be moved TWILIGHT ZONE This King Air is over Topeka. Kansas, at about 2,000 feet on approach to Bilfard Airport Alas, if you live out- side the 35 areas modeled in detail, this is what downtown will look like. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ♦ JANUARY 1999 /.compulergaming.< f THE FUTURE IS CLOUDY No other sim can match the cloud quality in PRO PILOT '99. The shapes, franslucency, and subtle blurring of the rivet heads as the clouds sweep over the wing are unequaled. around the screen. The text-based tutorial can be scrolled as you fly the mission. This displays all nec- essary keyboard commands — a really nice touch. Aircraft instrument panels and controls are precisely represented, and the equipment is easily oper- ated with the mouse or the key- board, The lessons increase in complexity as you move on to more sophisticated aircraft. You can even create your own tutorials and share them with others. Once you've mastered the basics, the improved Flight Plan Wizard gives you the opportunity to generate some realistic cross- country flights that will hone your basic flying, navigation, and instru- ment procedures. The Wizard has a simple, effective interface that gets you in the air quickly. Informative, accurate, and easy to use, the ground instruction and procedural pilot training aspects of PRO PILOT '99 are absolutely unequaled in a computer program selling for less than $50. Flight Modeling Made Easy While the ground and proce- dures training features lead the pack with regard to other flight simulations, the flight model trails the herd. Available aircraft include two models of the Cessna 1 72 trainer, three Beechcraft {the Baron, Bonanza, and King Air), and a Cessna Citation bizjet. There are well-documented performance data available for all these aircraft, and, in general, the aircraft meet those parameters fairly well. Control response can be easily tweaked in the menu to give the proper "feel" to each aircraft. The problem is in the general flight modeling, which lacks the refinement that the focus-on-flight training requires. While drag effects have been improved, and pitch/ power relationships are better than in the previous release, some old problems remain. There's no torque effect to create yaw when you fire- wall the throttle for takeoff; you won't need to use your rudders in these aircraft. When practicing slow flight in a single-engine craft (where your rudder is less effective because of slow speed), you can also firewall the power without any resultant yaw. Fail an engine at max power on a twin-prop and there's an incredibly gentle drift into the dead engine. Stalls are amazingly mild with any pitch or power setting, and there's no way to get these aircraft to spin. Generally speaking, this is all "negative training"; students are led to believe that they can leave their feet on the floor in a prop and that a 50-degree nose- high/turning full-stall at takeoff power is easily recovered. It's one thing to encourage peo- ple to fly with a good instruction program. It's quite another to make them think flying is a simple, for- giving pursuit based on a simplistic flight model. Graveyards are full of people that failed to give aviation its due respect. This program begs for a realistic flight model in addi- tion to the present overly simplified version. It can be done; there are several air-combat sims available with fairly realistic flight models. Given the focus of PRO PILOT '99, this needs to be done. On the Bright Side A few other aspects of this sim deserve special mention. The engine and aircraft sounds were recorded from the actual specific aircraft you're flying. These sounds are almost perfect, from the engine cough on start-up to the sound of the gear coming down. An audio air traffic control system provides weather, clearances, and other flight information that's pretty realistic. This should make student pilots much more com- fortable upon their entry into today's crowded skies. If you fly a filed flight plan, air traffic control will give you clearance to each waypoint along the route. If you are flying without a filed flight plan, you'll receive air traffic con- trol instructions near airport areas. You can select a talking copilot to handle the radio calls, greatly sim- plifying approach procedures. The air traffic control Al is much improved as well — you'll no longer receive repetitive instruc- tions to do something you've already accomplished, like to climb to a certain altitude. Buy Now, Save Later PRO PILOT '99 should have been the first release of PRO PILOT. Unlike its predecessor, it's a usable, finished product that sets new standards for inexpensive com- puter flight instruction. In this area, there is no equal at anywhere near its price. In almost all other respects, however, this is an aver- age, three-star civilian flight simu- lation. The outstanding, compre- hensive flight instruction earns the extra half star. John Nolan is not flying 727s fora living, he's totally immersed In EUROPEAN AIR WAR. ’Compulcrgammg.t COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • MORPHEUS Pleasant Dreams MORPHEUS Isn't Great, but It's a Welcome Diversion connections to arrive at a solution. While some puzzles can be solved using trial and error, the majority require that you to think them through rather than blindly trying one thing after another. This is par- ticularly the case with the dream- worlds. Each is a self-contained sequence, where you must solve three puzzles before you can get out of it. Nothing from the outside is needed; all the essentials are present in the world around you. Happily, none of this requires excruciating manipulation of mechanical devices or extensive calculations based on ancient lunar calendars. While figuring out an answer may take a lot of thought and deduction, apply- ing the solution is usually fast and straightforward. conversations among two or more passengers, It's hard not to think of this game as being subtitled "MYST Meets 7TH GUEST on the STARSHIP TITANIC." Like those three games, the setting of MORPHEUS is basically deserted. Aside from the phantom flashbacks, you meet no people during your time onboard the ship. The story of what happened is pieced together from various sources: diaries, notes, kine- scopes, recordings, and, of course, the re-enactments. No Carryall Required Also as in MYST and 7TH GUEST, puzzles are generally solved without the use of objects; there are few items to find and carry around with you. in fact, you can't carry more than one object at a time. That said, this is an adventure game, and there are definitely puzzles to solve. The dif- ference is that you must be extremely observant, take good notes, and use deductive reason- ing in a number of situations. Aside from the relatively minor chores of getting into the ship and restoring full power, the bulk of the game consists of figuring out the private codes to the passenger staterooms and entering the four dreamworlds, which have their own sets of puzzles to figure out. Many of the puzzles are not difficult, pro- vided you’ve been thorough in your exploi have taken good notes. Some of the conundrums, though, are rather subtle — if not obscure. You really have to pay close attention to everything around you— espe- cially in the dream sequences — to come up with the answers. Still, the game is quite fair. All the needed dues are present as long as you recognize them as such and can make the necessary by Scorpia F or those not already aware, Morpheus was the god of dreams. So, you would expect dreams to play an important role in Piranha's MORPHEUS, and in fact they are the focal point of the game. This adventure drama opens in 1952, with our protagonist, Matthew Holmes, searching the Arctic for his father, Theodore, who vanished from there 25 years eariier. What Matthew actually finds is the fabled ship Herculania, whose remaining passengers lie locked in eternal nightmares. They don't just dream, either. As you explore the vessel, ghostly scenes are replayed in certain locations. They can be a fleeting glimpse of someone slipping through a doorway or extended COMPUTER^ GAMIMG Lirt PROS; More freedom of move- ment than RIVEN clones; nice game concept; gorgeous graphiG. CONS: Ambiguous ending; unsympa- thetic characters; sometimes too dreamy for its own good. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 90, Windows 95/98, SMB RAM, 4x CD-ROM, SVGA graphic; supports Windows- compatible sound cards. Macintosh: PowerMac, System 7.5, 4x CD-ROM, SVGA graphics, 3D SUPPORT; None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT; None. Price; M9.95 Publisher: Piranha Interactive Tempe, Arizona (602) 491-0500 www.piranhainteraclive. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 iputergaming.c No Nightmare to Play The interface is simple. The cursor is a pointing arrow for direc- tions, with which you can move; a magnifying glass for close-ups; a hand with forefinger extended for manipulation; and a ship's wheel, which indicates when you can turn in place for a full view of your surroundings. A button at the bot- tom of the screen takes you to the control panel. At the panel, you can save, restore, and quit, and also make adjustments to the sound volume and some graphic elements. Saving is done in the old-fashioned way, in which you specify a regular file name in DOS-convention format (e.g., morpheus.sav). Unfortunately, you can't be too descriptive with only eight characters.But you can save to any directory you wish and thus have as many save positions as you would ever need. Graphically, MORPHEUS Is gor- geous. On the ship in the dream- worlds everything is beautifully ren- dered. Even the ghostly replays look good. For all that, you don't need a high-powered machine; the game ran just fine on a Pentium 166. In fact, it ran perfectly throughout with only one technical problem. This is a known bug that occurs in the PC version {there is also a Mac version of the game) in the bazaar. If you touch the drum there, the game will crash. Piranha has a patch for this on its Web site (www.piranhainteractive. com). You can also avoid the crash by simply not touching the drum; it isn’t necessary for solving any of the puzzles. While the game has no notable game-design flaws, there are some minor drawbacks. For one thing, you can only boot the game off the initial CD, instead of any of the three. This means shuffling disks every time you want to play since most of the game files are on the second and third CDs. Part of the game is learning what happened to the passengers, but you can do this by simply view- ing the four kinescopes. That tells you 90 percent of the story at the start. Anyone can fill in the remain- ing blanks. Also, the characters are unpleasant people. I'd have felt bet- ter about "saving" them If they’d been a bit less harsh. The most annoying part is the end, which is ambiguous and reaming in color I f you're interested in the god of dreams, Morpheus is the central character in Neil Caiman's Sandman series of graphic novels, which has nothing to do with the MORPHEUS game but offers some of the best fantasy available in any medium. After nearly a decade, the series is no longer published. But ail of the more than seven dozen Sandman tales are widely available in collected editions. The follow- ing are some suggestions on where to start. Keep in mind that these "comics" are serious art, intended for adults; don't buy these for your 10-year-old niece. Dream Country This isn't the first Sandman, but it's where Caiman really hits his stride. Learn about imprisoned muses, view the dreams of cats, and hang out with Will Shakespeare. A Game of You More bizarre, yet likable, characters than you'll ever meet this side of a Lewis Carroll novel, featuring a blonde heroine named Barbie, a female rock star (who just wants to settle down), a chillingly practical witch, and a weird villain, the Cuckoo, who attacks victims in their dreams. The Doll's House This can either be read as a fairly straightforward story about serial killers or as a parable on what to do when you make the wrong choices in life — it's enlightening, uplifting. ..and creepy as hell. Morpheus has a nice variety of puzzles, such as (T)this stateroom door lock, 0a calliope puzzle during a dream, 0a cadaver, and0the Neurographicon (the dream machine). doesn't come to a dear resolution. I can't say more without giving things away, but it did leave me feeling somewhat dissatisfied. Overall, MORPHEUS is a nice adventure game, despite occa- sional unevenness and an ambivalent conclu- sion. While several puzzles are too simple, others will give your brain a workout. Between that and the superior graphics, most adventurers are likely to find this one a pleasant few days' diversion. Scorpia has finally finished remodeling her dungeon. Woe be unto makers of tepid adventures — cause she's really getting tired of replaying MIGHT & MAGIC VI. i'.computergaming.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • HEXPLORE Marking Time HEXPLORE May Get You Through Those RPG Blues, but That's About It byTahsin Shamma or RPG fans, this year has been one agonizing bout of frustration. We’ve been forced to contend with one delay after another for all the cool, upcoming games. If you’re one of these individuals plagued by RPG withdrawal, you'll be inter- ested in HEXPLORE. This modest lit- tle game will ease your pain for a while, But if you're expecting it to be the next best cure since aspirin, don't get your hopes up. If It's Not Scottish... The medical treatment starts as the game unfolds, with a plot based in the real world circa A.D. 1000, only this time, the magic and monsters are real. You play the role of Mac Bride, a brave adven- turer from Scotland off to fight in the Crusades. On your way to the Holy Land, you come across some computer' 1 GAMII^ WORLD I APPEAL: RPG fans looking for something to do before Christmas. PROS: 3D terrain; great interface. CONS: Gameplay gets repetitive fast; bad in-game graphics. DIFFICULTY: Easy. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 100, Windows 95/98, 16MB RAM, SMB hard- disk space, 4x CD-ROM drive; supports Sound Blaster-compatible sound card, SVGA video card. 3D SUPPORT; None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: LAN, Internet (2-4 players); 1 CD per player. Price: S29.95 Publisher: Irfogrames Enleriainmem San lose, CA (408) 289-1200 www.infogrames.net helpless folks who are plagued by the evil minions of the wizard Garkham. From there you uncover the quest to find the book of Hexplore, an ancient text that leads to paradise. The good thing about HEX- PLORE is that it doesn’t deviate much from a tried and true for- mula. Gameplay is somewhat akin to both GAUNTLET and DIABLO, but the fully rotatable 3D terrain gives HEXPLORE its own feel. The characters you enlist to join you in your quest are also well defined. The game requires you to have only one Archer, Wizard, and Warrior in your party. So calculating the right mix of character types isn't a problem. You might think that managing four heroes could get complex since most of the action takes place on a small scale, with each character able to move anywhere he or she wants. Actually, the interface for controlling your characters has been designed so well that directing actions among characters and scenes is accom- plished through simple mouse clicks. The interface is so well done, in fact, that it makes you wish that other games would use the same system. Another inter- esting element is the level to which combat strategy is nec- essary to suc- ceed. Since each weapon is designed specifi- cally for a cer- tain character class, managing the four heroes and using their weapon strengths becomes a must. Since all this takes place in realtime, the tension is increased even further. If you prefer a slower level of combat, the game provides onscreen speed controls to slow the action down to a crawl. Kill, Search, Repeat The fun breaks down, however, when you discover that much of the game involves the same thing over and over again: cleaning out a level full of monsters while searching for the object that unlocks the next level. This brand of gameplay keeps your attention for the first few levels, but soon you'll be scrambling for the Valium to help stop you from banging your head into the moni- tor when you can't find that last hidden key. The other thing that drags the game down is the horrendous quality of the in-game graphics. Speed is always an issue when dealing with 3D nowadays, and the less detail you have the more machines can run your software. However, the design team really didn't seem to put much effort into making the gameplay art look even remotely up to today's standards. On the other hand, if you still haven't upgraded from a standard VGA card, enjoy! In the end. if you're looking for something to alleviate your RPG addiction, you'll find HEXPLORE enjoyable, even with its mild side effects. But if you're like the RPG addicts here at CGkV^— with our hauntingly vivid dreams of BALDUR'S GATE and DIABLO II— you'll find that this isn't quite the fix we were looking for. S3U Tasbm Shamma spends his time in the 5TARCRAFT universe when he's not exploring RPG worlds. tCOMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 ^.computergaming.c MR. HUSSEIN? Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood when youve got the power to rule over SimCity 3000™ Because now you can make friends and influence neighboring cities, too. So mind your manners, or be mind-blowingly mean. Give them a warm welcome or the cold shoulder. It all depends what kind of neighbor you are. Will your reign be characterized by diplomacy or duplicity? Sharing or shearing? Will you build bridges or burn them? We just give you the power. What you do with its your business. 312 CITY m(aT^ ! simcity.com To our knowledge, neither Mr. Rogers nor Mr. Hussein endorse, are associated with or even play SimCity 3000. ©1998 Electronic Arts Inc. SimCity 3000, Maxis, and Electronic Arls are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Environmental Audio is a trademark and the Environmental Audio Logo is a registered trademark of Creative Technologies Ltd. Made in the USA. For product or ordering Information, contact your local retailer or call 1-800-245-4525. REVIEW • RAGE OF MACES Daze of Mages Monolith's Rage of Mages Coulda' Been a Contender by Johnny L. Wilson B etrayal, carnage, and sorcery abound in Monolith's RAGE OF MAGES, a mission- based role-playing game with real-time combat. The 3D terrain affects line-of-sight and impacts travel. The spell effects are delightful. The story makes sense in an epic way. Natural catastrophe has set off a cycle of endless war. And your hero must travel through a magi- cal portal to the mysterious island (or alloid in the Russian version) of Uimoir to recover the artifact, which will stop the suf- fering. The missions are short enough to provide a quick game fix, the single-player equivalent of a beer-and-pretzels game. Like the protagonists in the movie COMPtJTEK GAMIMG APPEAL Role- playing fans who want a quick fix of fantasy each night but don't have to give up depth. PROS: Interesting tactical problems; nice plot twists; great design concept. CONS: Bug doesn't allow completion of one scenario; some puzzle solutions are far too linear. DIFFICUUY: Easy but scaleable. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0, 32MB RAM (recommended), 85MB hard-drive space, DirectX5. 3D SUPPORT: None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Modem (2 players), LAN or IPX (2-4 players); 1 CD per player. Price; S39.99 Publisher: Monolith Productions Kirkland, WA (425) B27-39Q1 Stripes, "You get in, you get out. Nobody gets hurt." Yet., , The game, which could have started a trend— lightweight Monte Haul role-playing where you play fast, advance fast, and get lots of goodies— doesn't start a trend. It has nice plot twists, terrific art, scaling play balance, reasonably intelligent pathfinding and fighting Al, and interesting terrain allowing you to use varied tactics — and there's plenty to do. Yet, RAGE OF MAGES ultimately fails to satisfy. The Beast We won't even mention the bad voice-acting. It was better before the English translation. Importantly, RAGE OF MAGES features two design problems that have killed games for eons. First, the game suffers from being too Monte Haul. The generous nature of the wealth thrown at your party and assem- bled in the course of each mission causes an inflationary spiral within the game world. The costs of your mercenary units, the allies you'll need in most missions, simply keep going up. This requires a boring part of the game that I call the "scavenger phase." You've already defeated the bad guys, rescued the good guys, or recovered the potion, amulet, or cloak. Now, instead of moving to the next mission, you have to run around and retrieve all of the weapons, gold, potions, and armor left behind by your late foes. There should be a "retrieve all bags onscreen" hot-key to reduce the mundane task. Second, the game suffers from single- answer solutions. Need some air support when you break the siege of that castle? You must go to the southwest corner of the map and retrieve that elixir. Then, go to the northwest and make sure that the correct mage has the elixir so that the dragon will talk to you (other- wise, nothing happens). Then, you go to the northeast corner of the map and perform salvage opera- tions after the dragon has wiped out most of the opposition. Another scenario requires the use of a certain spell. If you haven't purchased it, you're dead. Another scenario requires the discovery of "Teleport," but you might have to stretch the truth to get it. Otherwise, you're dead. The Beauty If you don't mind playing "Read the design team's collec- tive mind!" in some of the missions, there's lots of pleasure in RAGE OF MAGES. The animated spell effects are delightful; tactical opportunities are interesting: and the story has some interesting surprises. There are hot-keys to speed up play and plenty of options to help you play your way. You can get into the game quickly because there are in-game tutorials on most things. Best of all, you can play for 30 minutes or spend the entire night gaming. It's role-playing that doesn't require a lifestyle change. It's highly unusual for the per- son who wrote the sneak preview for CGWXo also write the review. With RAGE OF MAGES, however, I felt it was necessary. I had hoped it would become the next DIABLO— Monte Haul role-playing with a bit more depth. Instead, it's a game for people with patience. Unfortunately, that doesn't include most of us. SS21 Johnny L Wilson is the Bditor- in-Chief of CGVJ but still loses to his colleagues playing AGE OF EMPIRES. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD* JANUARY 1! v.compuLergaming.c HB lllil! You can give your SimCifcy 3000™ all the blow-dried good looks of a Hollywood production — or all the blown-up bad looks of a civic catastrophe. Recreate the 0olden State with famous landmarks. Or deconstruct it with detailed disasters. So what will it be? The San Francisco skyline or the San Andreas faultline? Surf's up or tsunami? 72 degrees and sunny or 458 degrees and runny? We just give you the power. What you do with it's your business. SEjCITY simcity.com ©1998 Electronic Arts Inc. SimClty 3000, Maxis, and Electronic Arts are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Environmental Audio is a trademark and the Environmenlat Audio Logo Is a registered trademark of Creative Technologies Ltd. Made in the USA. For product or ordering information, contact your local retailer or call 1-800-245-4525, REVIEW • GRAND PRIX LEGENDS Blast From the Past Papyrus Takes Racing Simulations to New Heights of Realism, Difficulty by Gordon Goble P apyrus Design Group has a history of devel- oping games targeted squarely at those who v/ill accept only the most realistic PC racing available. The fact that titles such as NASCAR RACING and INDYCAR RACING— with their hypercom- plex car models, realistic tracks, and sophisticated garages— have met with huge critical and com- mercial success proves that there really is an audience for the seri- ous racing simulation, Recently Papyrus has relented somewhat on the strict authenticity of its products, adding "arcade" features, numerous driver aids, and an omniscient crew chief/spotter to the latest NASCAR. Is this a sign of things to come? Not bloody likely. GAMING ★ ★★★A APPEAL: Serious racers craving realism; historical racing buffs. PROS: Autherrtic physic modeling; excellent Ai; big- lime crashes and outstanding replays; ultradetailed cats, CONS; Car dynamics may be perplexing for many; possible frame-rate problems; collision detection questions. DIFFICULTY: Advanced. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, W/indows 95/98 with DirectXS or later, 32MB RAM, 59MB hard-drive space, 2x CD-ROM, 2MB DirectX-compatible SVGA video card. 3D SUPPORT: 3Dfx or Rendition. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Internet, LAN (2-20 players), modem (2 players), serial (2 players); 1 CD per player. Price: S49.95 Publisher: Sierra Sports Eugene, OR (800) 757-7707 MEANT TO DO THIS Handling the cars in GRAND PRiX LEGENDS is going to take every ounce of talent that you have. Plan on spending a lot of time sideways or on fire. GRAND PRIX LEGENDS (GPL) Is the latest in the Papyrus/Sierra rac- ing collection, and it is anything but dumbed down. Instead, it will in all likelihood elicit one very serious question from even the staunchest of the Papyrus faithful: Has this realism thing perhaps been taken a bit too far? Glory Days Now, make no mistake about it, GPL may well be Papyrus’ finest hour. Dave Kaemmer, Matt Sentell, and the usual suspects at Papyrus have fashioned the most astonish- ing physics model ever to grace a racing game. They've coupled it with heretofore unseen levels of artificial intelligence, intricate graphics, typically bloodcurdling Papyrus crash effects, and a compelling sense of history that focuses on one highly interesting era: 1960s Grand Prix racing. But at the same time, GPL is so rigorous that even the most skilled sim driver may well find himself several hours into the game before he's managed to turn his first suc- cessful hot lap, never mind getting moderately com- petitive. In short, if you've felt the inherent difficulty of past Papyrus games borders on evil, GPL is a few more steps down that dark staircase to vir- tual racing hell. The culmina- tion of three years of develop- ment, GPL is a study in retro racing from the first moment on. Its conservative menus are decidedly subdued, classic in design, and without the flash and musical explosions of most other auto racing games. As a matter of fact, there's no music to be found anywhere — and for some that will be a step in the right direction. GPL chronicles the cars, drivers, and races of the 1967 Grand Prix season. It also takes great pains to re-create the storied and oh-so- hazardous racing circuits of the time. These were mean streets that took skill and cunning and, often, life and limb. The design team has done an excellent job on every major element, including each nar- row Monte Carlo chute and all 14.2 excruciating miles of Germany's sprawling and night- marish Nurburgring. Pedal to the Metal As for the driving experience, well, there's never been anything quite like it. Mostly though, it's just difficult, really really difficult — a trembling journey into the limits of COMPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 ;.computergaming.( track adhesion of period cars (Lotus-Fords, Ferraris, and the like), which were far too fast for the stick their bodies and tires could provide. There's no mistaking that the power is applied through the rear wheels, and there's also no mistake that Papyrus has removed virtually every safety net. Sure, braking and throttle assis- tance and automatic transmissions are available, but even with these aids drivers are constantly on edge from green flag to checkered flag. And don't be thinking you'll have some magical on-screen HUD to convey pertinent information. Back then, everything was manual, with the simplest of cockpit instrument panels and no pit communication whatsoever. So it is in the game. Heck, I sf///find myself going back to the "arcade" rear chase view over and over again, despite knowing that the truly fast times will eventually come through the In-car perspective. I certainly can't perceive subtle in-car sensations quite as well from back there, but it does give me a better grasp of space restrictions, momentum, velocity, and skid intensity — impor- tant aspects to consider when you can't confidently regulate the advanced GPL car model. But those who do manage to come to grips, so to speak, with the complexity of the physiG will find their job far from complete. You see, no matter how good you get behind the wheel, it's going to take some extensive mechanical tinkering just to get past midpack, much more so than any other Papyrus produa to date. For that, of course, there's the GPL garage, a facility that allows you to tweak virtually every tweakable aspect of these vintage cars. Yet having the necessary tools and knowing how to use them are two completely separate issues. Unlike previous Papyrus titles, the GPL garage does not stock any "Fast" or "Ace" setups and is brain-numbingly involved, featur- ing a number of esoteric modifica- tions whose combined effects can be fully understood only through lime, experience, and lots of OLD SCHOOL HEROES Race with some of tiie, eh, legendary figures of the 1960s in GRAND PRIX LEGENDS. SUMMER OF LOVE GRAND PRIX LEGENDS' plain- vaniiia setup screens are prettied up with authentic posters from the actual Grand Prix races of 1967. patience. The game does come with a thorough strategy book, but it stops short of spelling anything out for you. Saving Grace GPL features some of the finest artificially Intelligent drivers ever plunked in a racing game, I mean, these guys are smart — bobbing and weaving and showing off their collision avoidance time and again during my unimpressive initial forays. I know it's hard to believe, but they'll even veer calmly off the track and back on again should the situation be severe enough. Odd then that a completely motionless car may force an entire field to a full stop: The cars line up behind the stalled vehicle just as they did in both INDYCAR RACING games. Visually, GPL will seem a bit stark at first. Lighting effects are nonexistent and incidental track- side objects are often very 20 and appear to be no more complex than previous Papyrus games. But play the thing a bit, and you'll notice that the game developers have funneled their artistic talents into the things that really matter. Other critical perks include amazingly intricate cars that are solid and perspectively correct from any angle, suspension that jitters and jumps at all four corners of the car, varying degrees and shades of gritty engine and tire smoke to suit each circumstance, and a lovely assortment of sound effects. Most notably though, GPL is widescreen, with black bars across the top and bottom of the screen AIRBORNE! One of the upsides of radng a car that you can barely control is that you'll spend a lot of time doing things you never would survive in real life — like flying, for example. and a panoramic perspective from side to side — a great idea for a driving sim. And in quintessential Papyrus style, multipositional replays are both TV-quality and a great learning aid. Time to Die If you enjoy a little slice-'n'-dice with your wheel-to-wheel action, Papyrus hasn't forgotten about you either. These cars blow apart into a shower of strewn chunks that acro- batically flip through the air. It's an all-too-real ode to the danger of mid-'60s Grand Prix rac- ing, but one that's muted slightly by collisions that shouldhave hap- pened but didn't. You see, some- times cars can contact without any noticeable result. In fact. I've watched several replays where the wheels of one car have merged through wheels of another like they weren't even there. Of course, I was backtracking at the time hoping for yet another episode of horrific carnage, and maybe the game just isn't set up to handle crashes at a combined speed in excess of 350 mph. The frame-rates, meanwhile, seemed just fine under normal racing conditions but far (ess so should mangled cars and smoke fill the screen. Fortunately, Papyrus has included an absolutely enormous graphic options menu. Hard Sell Papyrus is to be praised for its commitment to authenticity and the know-how and creativity involved in concocting yet another landmark simulation. However, many will find GRAND PRIX LEGENDS to be almost too realisti- cally tough and will give up before the game's many joys can be uncovered. It's a great game, but the question to ask yourself is: Do you have the talent and patience to handle it? Gordon Goble is a former agent for a professional racing team. iputcffiamini-.c COMPUTER CAMtNC WORLD » JANUARY 1 999 REVIEW • NEED FOR SPEED III: HOT PURSUIT Speed Freak Beautiful, Realistic, and Intense, NFS III Takes Arcade Racing to the Limit by Kenneth Johnson N eed for speed iii; hot PURSUIT (NFS ill) is the latest addition to Electronic Arts' long- running series of driving games, and it takes the series' reputation for excel- lence to new heights. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous — perhaps the finest I've seen In a racing game to date. The texture maps used on the cars accurately reflect the surrounding environs. Reflections of trees, buildings, other cars, and tunnel lights flicker across the surface of your car, The effect is really intense at night and in Hot Pursuit mode — flashing blue and red police tights adding to the tension of the chase. computer ' 1 GAMIMC WORLD ★ ★★★★ APPEAL: Fans of driving games and anyone else look- ing for the ulti- mate road-racing experience. PROS: Stunning 3D graphics; ultra- realistic physics model; clever track design; tmly cool cars. CONS: Menu interface is somewhat nonintuitive; some cars not available in Hot Pursuit mode. DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Easy. REQUIREMENTS; Pentium 166, Windows 95/98, 16MB RAM, 90MB hard-drive space, 4x CD-ROM; supports DirectXS-compatible graphics and sound cards, mouse. 3D SUPPORT: Oirect3D, 3Dfx Glide. MULTIPUYER SUPPORT: Modem or serial connection (2 players), LAN (2-8 players). Price: S49.95 Publisher: ElearonicAns Redwood City, CA (650)628-1500 .needforspeed. EL DIABLO Y LA POLICfA If your vice is the desire to speed past the cops in a Lamborghini, NEED FOR SPEED III can help you legally fulfili it But, fortunately, NEED FOR SPEED III is a lot more than just pretty graphics. Drive-by NFS III provides several single- player modes and supports multi- player action over a local network. The most basic mode lets you drive a single race against a single car or a full grid on any of the unlocked tracks. Tournament mode pits you against a full grid of other high- priced road racers across a series of tracks. Knockout mode is similar except that the car placing last is eliminated at the end of each race — until it’s just you and one other driver. The full-featured multiplayer mode can make for some seriously competitive white-knuckle driving sessions. Playing against the Al is okay for getting familiar with the tracks and unlocking the secrets, but the gameplay really takes off when you go up against other real drivers. Hot Pursuit mode is where you get to see whether you've got what it takes to run from the cops — or to chase down speeders if you prefer to play the long arm of the law. Each of the tracks presents a different group of police interceptors. The small town cops of Hometown talk and drive like they're straight out of Hazzard County. On the Red Rock Ridge track you'll encounter rangerlike officers driving souped- up utility vehicles. The Al here is the most advanced I've seen. The police set up roadblocks with tire spikes and use realistic tactics, such as trying to box you in and slow you down. They are also not beyond running you off the road — since after all, you're probably armed and dangerous. If your speed drops below 55 mph and a patrol car is close enough, you're stopped and either sternly warned or, after repeated violations, arrested and taken off the street. The complete rush of being involved in a high-speed pursuit is certainly one of the most compelling aspects of the game. Circuit City The game comes with four basic tracks — each with its own distinct challenges and ambiance. The CO/VIPUTER GAMING WORLD ‘JANUARY 1999 v.compulerg.iminB.c [CjujdenTei|Xp^ s ANTALS MISSING! ^ Golden Tee Golf to Blame 'Vnwc\J C\ass\J \ Wovosi \ ttwsj .•\ Mo^ ^Rudolph Worried! washaisucn Chmlinn'i live. "I saw him buying ihai \v ■.■•/u^vn.’i’^uMiMcni-n.io'' OoUtiti 7lv GoU'giimc!" said .limniy Barns, 8.of Chicago, U. cooi Go to #228 @ www.computergamlng.com/infolink Now available at a store near you! Voted 1998 Most Piayed Video Game of the Year’*' Lightning Fast Arcade Style Game Play Three 18 Hole Courses in a Variety of Multiplayer Options TrackSwing'" Technology: Natural Mouse Swing www.itsgames.com tHIilUEP.ttDifllEIP www.irterplay.com IncfBdible Tecbrologies and GolOon Tee Goll are trademarks o( IncradiBle Technologies. Inc. Inlerplay and the Inlarplay logo are Itadomarks o( interplay Productions. All Rights Reserved. •Voted 1998 most played coin-operated gameol the year by Amusomerl Machine Operators Association. REVIEW • NEED FOR SPEED III: HOT PURSUIT a good force-feedback wheel. Using a force-feedback wheel lets you really feel the road. When the road surface changes — when you drive over a cobbled bridge, for exam- ple — the effect is extremely realis- tic. You also feel the vibration of the car's engine, and each car has a distinctive response. The amount of feedback for road effects, collision effects, engine vibration, and road grip can be adjusted until the bal- ance feels right. Finish Line What distinguishes NFS III from other arcade racing games — besides the sheer visceral thrills— is just how realistic it feels. The combination of near-photorealistic graphics with a relatively accurate and detailed physics model really captures the experience of high- speed road racing. During the time I was writing this review I went Hometown track is set in farmland located in middle America and fea- tures a wicked 90-degree turn right in front of the county courthouse. Redrock Ridge is set in the painted deserts of the southwest and is a roadrunner's paradise. Atlantic offers a futuristic high-tech cityscape by the sea, while Rocky ff/c/ge provides the classic Alpine road racing course with steep climbs and hairpin curves. If you win in Tournament mode, you unlock extended ver- sions of these basic tracks, which leverage the experience you've gained with each track but are more challenging and expansive. (It will also unlock the Jaguar XK8 or the Mercedes 5L6Q0, depend- ing on the difficulty setting.) The attention paid to small details Is what really makes these tracks stand out. The environment is completely interactive — anything you might knock over will remain that way the next time you pass. These tracks are real 3D environ- ments, not just pretty backdrops that flash by your car. Each one also offers secret shortcuts and cool jumps to keep things inter- esting. Sounds— such as barking dogs — as you scream through a ^ TieiUlD C PULLING OVER A PUSHOVER ...his ruthlessly aggressive Al could have you seeing this screen often. Again, note the excellent chrome effect that Is shining all over your car. town in the early morning add to the game's overall realism. To unlock the other tracks you must win in Tournament mode and Knockout mode. Winning in Knock- out mode unlocks the Empire City track, a noirish nighttime inner city with lots of steep hills, freeway underpasses, and hidden jumps. Auto Shop NFS 111 offers a very cool selec- tion of cars. There are offerings from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Italdesign, Jaguar, and Mercedes. From the fabulous handling Ferrari 550 Maranello to the powerhouse Lamborghini Diablo SV, the entire gamut of high-priced, high-performance automobiles Is well represented. Particularly interesting is the Italdesign Scighera, which is a prototype interpretation of an Alfa Romeo sports car and is not for sale. This could be the closest thing you can get to actually driving one. EA is also going to periodically provide new cars for downloading from the game's Web site (www.needforspeed. com). The first car made available at the time this review was written is the experimental Spectre R42 — an English supercar with lots of power. The Lamborghini Diablo SV is the fastest car in the game and has the best acceleration. Although the curvy nature of most of the tracks makes it difficult to maintain top speed, the ability to accelerate past the pack makes it the best car to use in the single- player modes. In Knockout mode it is always one of the other Diablos that you will be dueling on the final Empire C/ry track. The game's force-feedback sup- port is excellent, and owning this game is reason enough to purchase driving in the mountains. As 1 cruised along narrow, twisting roads, I kept thinking about how much the experience reminded me of playing NEED FOR SPEED III— at least as far as handling the car went. I wasn't being chased by the police, and I wasn't pushing my Lamborghini much past 60 mph. Okay, so I don't own a Lambor- ghini. But after playing this game, I sure wish that I did. LK'LJ When he's not crashing exotic sports cars, Kenneth Johnson can be found playing WORLD CUP '98 and GRAND PRIX LEGENDS. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 iputergaming-C I’lill the plunger, pul the pedal lo Ihe mclal and race lo the checkered Hag 3D Ultra NASCAR, Pinball combines the thrill ol NASCAR... racing and the fast-flipper actiorr of pinball into wild bumper-to-bumper fun. hicludcs NASCAR:, greats Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott. Tcr^ Labonte and Bobby Labonte jjtt 3-D Ultra Pinball Quality, including ’ extra wide tables, no scrolling ancT dynamic ball phj/sics , 4^ Stunning 3-D graphic animations- ’ including motion-capture pit crews NASCAR® race strategy J|>. r\ REVIEW • MADDEN 99 Maddening No More EA SPORTS Finally Gets (Almost) Eveiythlng Right by Brett Todd S o close yet so far away, That simple sentence just about sums up the checkered history of the MADDEN football series on the PC. MADDEN 96 had so many problems that it never shipped. MADDEN 97 made it to the shelves, but basketball-tike scores caused a lot of buyers to wish that it hadn't, MADDEN 98 went out the door incomplete, and required a 10MB patch to bring both the gameplay and the graphics up to par. This year, however, it's a whole different ballgame. Just when you were ready to throw in the towel, CGMRUTER GAMING _ WORLD ^ A ^ CONS: A tew problems with the computer interceptions and running game; Internet play too laggy, DIFFICULTY LEVEL Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS; Pentium 166 MMX with Direct3D compatible graphics accel- erator card (P200 MMX without), Windows 95/98, 8x CD-ROM, DirectX6- compliant sound card, 1 SMB RAM. 3D SUPPORT: 3Dfx, second-generation D3D-compatibIe cards (all major chipsets). MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: IPX-compli- ant network (2-8 player) : modem (28.8Kbps or faster required, one CD per computer), or serial play with null modem cable (2 players):TCP/IP internet connection (2-8 players). PRICE: $49.99 PUBLISHER: EA Sports Redwood City, CA (650) 628-5999 EA Sports and Tiburon Entertain- ment have produced the Vince Lombardi (sorry, John) of football sims. And ! don’t use the 's' word lightly. MADDEN NFL 99 is a true simulation that brings virtually every aspect of the pro game to life. Want a pile of current and classic teams? You can pick from more than 120 provided here. Sick of the way that Jim Fassel has been running the Giants into the ground this year? Replace him and draw up your own playbook. Need TV-quality visuals? The Broncos' Bill Romanowski looks almost as mean here as he does on Monday Night Football. Up for guiding your favorite dub through multiple seasons? Key up franchise mode and you too can have the pleasure of cheating the salary cap. As John Madden says in the intro: "You want big time football? The hits, the boom, the doink, the whap? It's all here." She's a Beauty The gorgeous graphic are what you'll first notice about MADDEN 99. After stumbling badly last year, the designers have responded by crafting perhaps the most gor- geous visuals ever seen in a PC sports game. It's certainly the most stunning-looking football game ever. EA SPORTS boasts that each JAGUARS RIPPED MY FLESH Those sad sack Colts aren't much of a match for tiie powerful Jags this year — on the computer screen or anywhere else. Oh, and accuracy fans should note that Mark Brunei! does throw left-handed in MADDEN 99. player contains 1,200 polygons, but you'd never know it. Thanks to excellent use of 3D acceleration (DirectBD and 3Dfx modes look virtually identical, by the way), the players are almost as rounded and as lifelike as what I watched on my TV last Sunday. The little touches, such as authentic weather effects, really make this game something special. Dorsey Levens pants hard after every tough run, and you'll even see each puff of his frosty breath if it's cold enough at Lambeau Field. All the atmosphere of stadiums like Soldier Field and 3Com Park (Candlestick) is brought to life courtesy of some beautiful art- work. Uniforms are reproduced in exacting detail, right down to the last shoulder patch. Animation is equally superb. Players walk, run, juke, and dive exactly as they should. Tackles are as authentic as you'll get this side of NFL Films. Instead of the stan- dard "touch 'em and fall down" approach of football games past. MADDEN 99 players haul down their opponents with textbook wrap-and-rolls. Let the Good Times Roll MADDEN 99 is much more than a pretty face. Quite frankly, this game plays more like NFL football than anything I have ever seen. Where past MADDENS leaned so far toward action that they left realistic football behind, this one successfully walks the fine line between arcade and simulation. You really have the best of both worlds. Gamepad pushers get full 1 0-button support for jukes, stiff- arms, spins, and swim moves, along with a new one-button mode to simplify things (get the timing right and the PC handles everything else) and a directional pass method (point the D-pad A COMPUTER GA/VlINC WORLD » JANUARY 1999 ^.compulergaming.com MADDEN 99 • REVIEW toward the receiver). Strategists can switch over to coach mode and call all the plays with a mouse. Both modes work great. I've also been delighted with the intelligence of the computer- operated clubs. Whenever the PC has a chance to bury me inside the 10 with a well-angled punt, it does so. Clock management is very good. You can usually count on the computer to work the ticker with all the experience of Mike Ditka in the waning moments of the game (although you'll occasionally see some wasted time). Perhaps most impressive is the way that the Al learns from its human opponent. If I call a half-back push up the mid- dle on first down too often, the PC makes me pay for it with a rather prescient defensive call. Same goes for pump fakes. These smarts also mean that teams generally behave as they should. Thanks to custom play- books that mirror the real-world originals, MADDEN 99's Dallas Cowboys run out of the 'i' forma- tion a lot, the 49ers favor a wide- open aerial attack, and the Red- skins commit ritual suicide on the sidelines after the coin toss. Vir- tually all of the decisions made by the digital coach are proper ones. UP YOURS, MODELL! You can get a jump start on the NFL's return to Cleveland by playing with a fantasy Browns 99 team— it's a lot better than the one that moved to Baltimore, too. That said, the gameplay is not perfect. Defensive backs and safeties are a little too good with their coverage. I like the fact that MADDEN 99 is tough on QBs who like to throw into crowds, but mak- ing this mistake shouldn't result in as many interceptions as it does. Balls that would simply be batted www.computergaming.com away in the real world usually end up as picks here. The running game is also flawed at times. While you can develop an UP AND OVER Terrell Owens makes like Jerry Rice (or should that be Willie Mays?) wrtii a dynamic over-the- shoulder snag. effective ground assault, it's overly tough to run to the outside — particularly at the higher difficulty settings. Blocks rarely materialize when you run a sweep, with the result being that even the likes of Barry Sanders has a tough time making it back to the line of scrimmage. The PC sometimes can't accomplish anything on the ground. Even the better running teams like Green Bay and Dallas have it tougher than they should. Porous defenses (that of Carolina, for example) can often completely shut down the Emmitt Smiths of the league. Play it Again, John A huge list of options adds to the replay value. Three skill levels — pro. all-pro, and Madden — allow beginners to work their way up to the big leagues. You can further tweak almost every game condition imaginable, including fatigue, injuries, and penalty sensitivity. Internet play is available for those who get bored playing by them- selves. A play editor lets you create and save your own customized playbooks. All of the current NFL teams and stadiums are included, along with every Super Bowl and NFL championship club going back to 1 966. There's even special 1 964 and 1999 Cleveland Browns squads and stadium on hand for those who can't wait for the league to ORANGE CRUSHED...AGAIN Thanks to the huge selection of past teams, you can replay any Super Bowl you'd like. History occasionally repeats itself, though. Craig Morton and aew fared Just as bad against me as they did against Tom Landry. return to the Mistake by the Lake. There are a number of different play modes, from practice and exhibition right through to 8- or 16- team tournament, season, and custom season. You can also run customized fantasy draft tournaments, dumping the entire league into a common pool and selecting rosters for 4, 8, or 16 ciubs who will duke it out in a single-elimination tourney. Probably the most eagerly awaited feature is fran- chise mode. While it won't satisfy the FRONT PAGE SPORTS: FOOTBALL PRO junkies out there, average players will appreciate the added depth in franchise play. Having to run a four-round draft, stay under the salary cap, and win enough ballgames so you don't get canned is also a real challenge. Computer- owned teams add spice to every- thing by serving as major partici- pants in the action. They'll offer trades to the player and make moves with one another. The only real flaw in all this is a 15-season limit. So if you want to guide the Eagles into 2013 (hey, it'll probably take that long for them to become competitive again!), you'll have to wait for Sierra's FOOTBALL PRO 99. Of course, there are a few mis- takes in execution. Default settings for the Sidewinder gamepad are atrocious (thankfully, they can be customized). The menu and play editor interfaces betray the title's console roots. There's still no way to create or edit a player. Franchise play is limited to the 30 current NFL teams, and, unlike single-season mode, you can't customize any of the divisions. You can't use the fan- tasy draft in either franchise or sea- son modes. Also, lag is a major problem with Internet match-ups. Strangest of all is the sub-par audio. For a game that plasters John Madden's mug all over the place, he's rarely heard from once the players take the field. He and Pat Summerall are relegated to providing just the occa- sional generic comment this year. In-game sound effects are somewhat more effective than the play-by-play, but are little better than average. Regardless of these minor issues, it's impossi- ble not to give MADDEN 99 an unconditional recommendation. This game delivers on all the broken promises of previous editions in a big way. With dead-on gameplay, career and management options, and ravishing visuals, it is the ciosest we've come to recreating football on the PC. I don’t know about the "boom" and the "doink," but John's sure made good on everything else — it's definitely all in here. Brett Todd has been enjoying FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL and is currently planning to murder the guy who designed mission #10 in COMMANDOS. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » IN YOUR FACE AaiON Picks get run right into your lap in MADDEN 99. Shawn Wooden almost jumped off the monitor after breaking up a long drive of mine at Pro Player Park. REVIEW • FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL Front Runner An Outstanding, Addictive Football Management Sim by Dennis McCauley F ront office football (FOF), a football manage- ment simfrom tiny start- up Solecismic Software, is unabashedly inspired by last year's surprise smash, BASEBALL MOGUL However, FOF takes MOGUL'S winning formula several planes higher. It's an incredibly detailed simulation of the business side of the NFL. After intensive FOFing, 1 feel qualified to take over the reins of a pro football team. Show Me the Money FOF walks you through an NFL season in cycles. As the new cam- paign begins, your most important task is to conduct the college player draft. For draftniks like me. this game within a game is itself almost worth the price of admission. Your team's draft position is based on last year's standings. However, you can trade up or down based on COMPCITER^ GAMING _ WORLD PROS; Has the details down; gives a realistic depiction of how money runs pro football CONS: Interface is a tad cumbersome in places: has no opportunity for on- field leadership. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: 486 100MHz PC, Windows 95/98/NT, 16MB RAM, 256- color SVGA mouse. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Nona 3D SUPPORT: None. Price: $34.95 Publisher: Solecismic Software Seattle, WA. 379-7878 your assessment of the talent level in the draft. Available players receive a rating number from your scouts. As the draft progresses, your choices mount. Should you draft the most highly rated player? Or should you select a collegian who fills one of your position needs even though he's rated lower? Such quandaries have sent more than a few player personnel directors scurrying for their ulcer medicine. With drafted players in hand, you'll move into the free agency period. You'll be stunned by sticker shock NFL-style. Players expect signing bonuses on top of annual salaries. The bonuses, which can be huge, apply against the cap. It's your job to conduct negotiations and lock in your key players — all the while keeping costs down. FOF's negotiation model is the best I've seen in a sports sim. The dickering is truly interactive. You can opt for single- or multiyear contracts, adjust the bonus, or decline to make an offer. The play- er agent Al is formidable. Virtual Jerry Maguires won't let you "back load” contracts. They under- stand a ruthless general manager like you will probably release their player in the expensive later years of the deal. While there is some . WANNA TRADE? Like everything else in this game, tiie trade Al in FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL is realistic and tough. l.VOllOOo • FTTij • fs-^i l"ti !• a PTii 1-il «« pTii : u- IT to TO M w nrjj nrjj nr^j nr^ nr^ n-jj r DETAILS, DETAILS In FOF you can't actually play the game on the field yourself, but you can tweak virtually every detail of your team's on-field behavior for simulated games. room for salary adjustments, the Al aggressively protects players' financial interests. Trading offers another means of building your team. Deals in FOF can be made for players or draft picks. You can approach other teams or they may contact you. Trade Al is fairly tough, although a team can occasionally be persuaded to ship you a first- round pick for an aging star. Field General Once you've set your rostei; you can tweak your depth charts or have your staff do it for you. Games can be quick-simmed or played out by the CPU with a text- based, play-by-play accompaniment. The stats and results generated are within realistic ranges. There is, however, no human control during the game itself. The best field generalship you can pro- vide is to fiddle with the rudimentary percentage system that passes for a game plan. Winning the financial game is paramount, but success on the playing field is also an important consideration in FOF. To win you'll need to accumulate tal- ent. This means solid scouting and coaching. Player ratings are not transparent in FOF, so you'll need to rely on your scouting reports. Scouts and coaches are rated on their ability to evaluate, teach, and motivate various players. If you do feel the need to make a change, there's always a pool of replace- ments available — at a price. In the Red Zone Is FOF a perfect game? Not quite. The interface could be smoother, requiring fewer clicks to access various data. Although the game saves career stats, it would be more useful to be able to view yearly stats as well. In the current version once the season ends, the stats and standings disappear. Despite these few minor flaws, FOF is easily the deepest NFL sim I've ever played. It offers a loving attention to detail that is too often missing in games these days. For hard-core NFL junkies, FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL is as good as it gets. Dennis McCauley was caught com- mitting recruiting violations in FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL He has been declared ineligible for post- season play. A. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 etiquete at the tlon Driving Range atonic Play “extreme” HV golf on the [Hv haunted Mojo hm Bay Course Experience Deathmatch Golf on the Dimension X battlefield Attitude! www.AccessSoftware.com Go to #076 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink REVIEW • NCAA FOOTBALL 99 College Try NCAA FOOTBALL 99 Is Better Than Last Year's Model, but It Could Still Use a Tutor by Dennis McCauley eteran sports gamers will recall EA Sports' NCAA FOOTBALL 98 as one of the few bright spots in last year's computer football deba- cle. Despite its throw- back graphics and poor viewing angles, gamers were enamored of the NCAA's fluid player animations and authentic college football flavor. Small won- der, then, that the football crowd was expecting big things from the NCAA franchise this time around. Does the game deliver? Yes and no. The Gang's All Here The old school flavor Is still there — with every Division 1-A team represented in authentic uniforms. There are also 123 differ- ent stadiums provided, although their level of detail is rather COM#*t»TeR' 1 WORL.P I APPEAL College football fans, PROS: Great atmosphere; fluid player animations: recruiting system. CONS: Weird Al trids; clunky inter- face; bad camera angles. DIFFICULTY: Easy, REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, Windows 95, 16MB RAM, 1MB DirectDraw 5.2a, 4x CD-ROM; supports DirectX5.2a-compatible sound and video cards, keyboard, and mouse 3D SUPPORT: 3Dfx Voodoo or Voodoo^ chipsets. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Two players on LAN, modem, or serial connections; 1 CD per player. Price: S49.95 Publisher: EA Sports Redwood City, CA (650)628-1500 uneven. NCAA's polygonal players look much better this year, espe- cially at 800x600 resolution with 3Dfx acceleration and detail settings at high. Returning are the excellent player animations, which ensure the action in NCAA 99 is impressively realistic. You'll see ball carriers leveled with jarring hits, defenders swiping at the pigskin, and tackled players going down realistically — at times sliding along the turf. Unfortunately, the game drops the ball with an absurd collection of camera angles. The default view behind the offensive backfield is too constricted to be effective. By failing to show much beyond the tackles, gamers can only guess about what their wide receivers are up to. If a cornerback is cheat- ing up for a blitz, you'll have to remember to sneak a peak with your game pad; otherwise, you're dead meat. The alternative views aren't much better. Ranging from a helmet cam to a blimp view, there's not one that offers a truly useful per- spective. Since the view was a major gripe with NCAA last year, you'd think the EA Sports machine could have devised a better solu- tion. Worse, there's no SNOW DAY Variable weather patterns keep things interesting, as do the 123 modeled stadiums. simple way to switch between cameras. If you're forced to punt, for example, and you'd prefer a perspective from the defensive side of the ball, you'll have to back up to an options menu, cycle through the views, and then return to the play- calling screen. Wouldn't hot- keys have been a much less painless way to accomplish this task? The cynic in me suspects a contagion effect from the console version. After all, PlayStations don't have keyboards, do they? Can I Get Some Scouting Here? NCAA 99 offers several play modes, including practice, exhibi- tion, tournament, and a collection of classic past matchups. Gathering the most attention, however, is the game's Dynasty mode, a feature sorely missed in last year's edition. In Dynasty mode, would-be Steve Spurriers can take multiple stabs at achieving a number-one ranking by recruiting the best high school talent available. While Dynasty mode is fun. it's little more than a roster-filling exercise as currently realized, That's because your choices are basically which positions to recruit and how hard to recruit them. The intensity of your efforts to impress the high school seniors — all those letters, campus trips, and dates you've arranged with buxom cheerlead- ers — come down to a simple per- centage point expression. How you spread your 100 points around equates to the likelihood a given DEKE LOVE Fluid player animations were one of the highlights of last year's NCAA FOOTBALL, and this year the/re even better— thanks to shaiper poly- gonal models. CQAAPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 /.computi;r;;,iminf’, com NCAA FOOTBALL 99 • REVIEW recruit will sign on. It's an overiy abstract system. Other than their position, you know nothing about the seniors — not even their names. Is It satisfying? A little. Could it be improved? Definitely, For example, if I'm recruiting 1 8- year-old horse flesh, I want to know his size and weight and also where the kid is from. I'd like to know his SAT scores and whether he'd even consider my school before I waste precious recruiting time on him. For an example of how this is done, I'd refer the NCAA 99 design team to GTE's NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL from a couple years back. Of course GTE is out of the game business and EA Sports is kicking butt — so what do I know? However, there are some nice touches of recruiting realism. It seems harder, as it should be, to entice blue-chip prospects to downtrodden football programs such as Temple, The service acade- mies, with their high standards and military commitment, also seem to reap a less-talented harvest. Along with recruiting, the game generates an annual report on players who have left the team— be it for the NFL draft or simply because their eligibility has expired. Returning players are rated for their improvement or lack thereof. Using this information as a guide, you can adjust your roster accordingly. Good Game Once you've set your roster, play options include arcade, sim, or coach-only. Sims are lightning fast, with scores in the accurate range. An entire week's slate of games can be handled in a matter of seconds, and the game system seems to account for intangibles, such as home-field advantage. Scheduling itself is handled well. The game generates an authentic slate of opponents, including the odd Division 1-AA team. Arcade play is quite challeng- ing, particularly since it's constrict- ed by the camera angles. For the tactilely Impaired, coach mode offers the chance to call the plays without responsibility for carrying them out. Defense is particularly hairy since you have only five seconds to enter your play before the ball is snapped. Play calling involves selecting a formation and a play from a lim- ited set of choices. Each team has a default offensive and defensive scheme. Navy, for example, offers a Wishbone. Tennessee features a pass-oriented attack even though Peyton Manning has moved on to NFL glory. Within offensive forma- tions, you can choose several looks and can run a dozen plays from each. While the selection of plays Is certainly enough to get you through a typical Saturday afternoon, the lack of a play editor severely limits your ability to tweak the Xs and Os. Despite these shortcomings, NCAA 99 is one hell of a lot of fun to play. Although the interface has rough edges, the game action is right on the money. In particular, the Al does some very nice things, such as having a pressured quar- terback throw the ball out of the end zone rather than risk a pick. As mentioned, the player anima- tions are excellent. Running backs duck and cut in an effort to avoid tacklers, and blitzing linebackers sometimes slam quarterbacks to the turf. Penalties, in particular, feel right — both in timing and pre- sentation. It's incredibly frustrating to see your left guard forget the snap count and jump out of his stance just as you were anticipating a big play. Say, can I yank his scholarship? On the other hand, the Al does some strange things, too. Quarterbacks seem intent on passing to certain receivers, even in the face of triple coverage. Running backs occasion- ally become hung up on the offen- sive line for up to 10 seconds — legs churning furiously — before they're either tackled or break loose. On one occasion near the end of the first half, the Al elected not to employ its time-outs even though it was within easy field goal range. Why are we dwelling so long on the artificial intelligence, you ask? Isn't this the age of Internet play? Well, yes, but not for NCAA 99, which only supports LAN, modem, or serial options for multiplayer. Perhaps EA can recruit some Net play for next year's edition. I'd also be remiss if I A BUG'S LIFE NCAA FOOTBALL has a lot of camera angles to choose from, but none are very good — including this view from way back. didn't point out that a game with a system as rich as NCAA's deserves a decent manual. Once again it shows its console her- itage with what appears to be a PlayStation manual on steroids. Fourth and Long I like NCAA 99 quite a bit. Its strong points far outweigh its annoying rough edges. Even more encouraging, at press time a patch was rumored to be near comple- tion that would address some passing issues and add more time for defensive play calling. lk.'H’J Dennis McCauley was caught committing recruiting violations in NCAA 99. He has been declared ineligible for postseason play. ^/w.cumpulergamin/’.c COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • CAESAR III Hail Caesar! Friends, Romans, Countrymen— CAESAR III Is a Resounding Success I R o ! 9 by Tim Carter ome.The very name i conjures images of I grandeur and might, I the dominator of the world, the conqueror of vast armies, and truly i one of the world's i greatest empires. Now, fortunately (and finally), the great- ness of Rome has been reflected in a truly impressive game. Rome, if historians are to be believed, was unique in its era; and while CAESAR 111 probably doesn't stand alone among strat titles, it surely is one of the best, cleanest, and most fun computer games to come down the pipe in recent years. CAESAR III is a game of city con- struction and defense in ancient Rome. SIMCITY fans (and fans of CAESARs I and II) will no doubt be familiar with the basic concepts of designating land for housing, vari- ous economic and social functions, computer' 1 ety and direction. CONS: Quirky Al; may be tcx> daunting for all but die hardest of the hard New Air Mission System. CHOOSE from over 200 lask forces and flght as either Chinese or Western Alliance forces. Deploy weapons systems such as Ml A3 and T-OO Main Battle Tanks, Werewolf Attack Helicopters, Starstreak Surface-to-Air Missiles and more. New 16-bit color and random events add realism to this strategy epic of jf********^ j^ -gfe globai meltdown! I DRnuTi';^ : s PEOPLE’S GENERAL Sfrafegy Gaming Looks to the Future. to orden Visrtyour retailer or call 1 - 800 - 71 6-8503 wttfi VIsa/MC (North America only). www.peoplesgenerai.com scape Company. All rignis reseived. Mindscape Is a registeretftrademarK and its logo Is a Iradcmartt of Mindscape. fnc., a division p's General is a trademark and die SSI logo and Panzer General' are roistered trademarks of Sfralegic Simulaflons, Inc. [oftier trademarks and registered trademarks are Ihe property of their respective holders. ‘ Go to #112 @ www.computergamlng.com^nfoDnk REVIEW • AXIS & ALLIES Worid Conquest Made Easy AXIS & ALLIES Is Very Good, but a Little Buggy by Tim Carter I f you’re looking to conquer the world in only a few hours (beer and pretzels firmly in hand), Hasbro's AXIS AND ALLIES, a computer con- version of the classic board- game, nicely fills the niche between games like RISK! and PANZER GENERAL (which is admittedly still pretty simple on the grognard gaming scale). I imagine that the design team approached the conversion of this classic boardgame with both trepidation and anticipation. On the one hand, they already know and respect the aspects of the original that make it popular; on the other hand, there's a devoted fan base out there — fully prepared to judge their product harshly against a much-loved original. computer' 1 GAIV|ll\fG APPEAL: Anyone who wants a light, replayahle strategy game. PROS: Simple, fast, fun, and endlessly replayable; a very good recreation of the boardgame classic. CONS: Some programming woes; erratic Al; it's still a boardgame on a PC. DIFFICULTY: Easy. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 133, Windows 95/98, 16MB RAM, 40MB hard-drive space, 1 MB SVGA graphics card, 4x CD-ROM; supports Winriows- : compatible sound cards. 3D SUPPORT: None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT; 1-5 players via Modem, serial cable, LAN, botseat or imernei (through MSN Gaming Zone); 1 CD per player. Price: 539.99 Publisher: Hasbro Interactive Beverly, Massachusetts (508) 921-3700 www.axisandallles.c RED SUN RISING The world of 1942 becomes Japan’s co-prosperity sphere. AXIS AND ALLIES, for the uniniti- ated, is a pretty straightforward World War II global strategy game. There are enough compo- nents to make the game interest- ing and to give players a range of options, but the basic system and rules are simple enough that any- one can learn them easily. It offers a quick, simple game based loosely on World War II but doesn't let too much history or realism get in the way of having a good time. The game begins in 1 942 with the Axis (Japan and Germany) at the height of their powers but facing an industrially superior trio of opponents in Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Your forces are drawn from a limited selection of units: infantry and tanks, fighters and bombers, battleships, transports, subs, and aircraft carriers. The world is divided into regional zones similar to RISK!, each worth a certain number of industrial points. Winning requires you to ally in order to domi- nate the world's economic-rich areas or to overrun your opponents' capital zones. The tutorial system quickly introduces play- ers to the game's system of orders and units and also provides a quick Simple Strategy Even though the game system is mechanically simple, it allows for quite sophis- ticated strategy. This is particularly true in a five-player game in which at least one player on either side will have to take the brunt of the opposi- tion's attack, sacrificing their short-term gains for the good of the alliance. In this respect, Hasbro's com- puterized version of AXIS AND ALLIES offers a few advantages over the boardgame: It's easier to organize a true five-player game via multiplayer play on the Internet or using the computer Al. It's also fun solo, especially for those late nights when you have neither the patience nor the mental energy for THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR. While you'd be hard put to argue that AXIS AND ALLIES cap- tures the flavor of World War II (but see Terry Coleman's sidebar, next page), it does a great job of re-creating the diplomatic and planning elements of any multi- player game in which tradeoffs and cooperative operations are required to win. AXIS AND ALLIES also allows gamers to select the Second Edition or Third Edition rules and to add or exclude a variety of other optional rules. Given the simplicity and fun of the game system, it's a pity that the designers didn't see fit to add WHO NEEDS U-BOATS? Tile Ai's fixation with submarines when piaying the British can create probiems with piay baiance. run-through of the strategic problems facing each of the five powers. This, combined with the short manual, should provide gamers with all the technical information they need. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 v.computergaming.com AXIS & ALLIES • REVIEW RUSSIAN BEAR GROWLING An early Soviet attack into Norway/Finiand is one of the standard gambits for an aggressive Soviet player. a map editor or variable setup options to AXIS AND ALLIES (to allow for World War I scenarios, for instance), but I'll admit that's quibbling. Great Plan, Poor Execution On a technical level, the conver- sion of AXIS AND ALLIES to a computer format is largely well done. The game is easy to play, most commands are intuitive, and the game system functions smoothly. Sadly, the programming isn't quite as clean. My version of the game crashed relatively frequently (about once every game) and didn't interact particuiarly well with Windows. The auto-install functions failed to create a working shortcut, which I had to do manually instead, in addition, some small but still annoying glitches can cause prob- lems in highly specific situations. For instance, if you stop a game midway through any player's turn and start a new game without shutting down the entire program, you run the risk of starting the new game with units in the same posi- tions they were in the old game. The confusion in orders and place- ment that results will, eventually, crash the entire program. Also I found that theAl moved very slowly for so simple a game, i played AXIS AND ALLIES on a Pentium 166, which is hardly top of the line, but the game is neither graphically nor mechani- cally complex. On a more subtle level, the computer Al will occasionally do strange things in pursuit of total victory. At the beginning of the game, the computer appears to select opening moves from an i % ^ 1 * : 3 : ; 1 1 , HAVE DICE, WILL ROLL Ported right from tile boardgame. this is a good example of an attack in progress on the Battie Board. Note the Japanese heavy bombers, which pretty much guarantee a victory for the Sons of Nippon. WAR IN THE FAR EAST You won't see this on the History Channei: Japan attacks through Siberia, ending the war. array of established strategies for each country. Reliable sources tell me that most of these strategies have been adapted from popular openings in tournament play. This means that at the beginning of the game the computer will generally follow an identifiable, and often very effective, strategy. Yet, once war gets rolling, this consistency breaks down. Some- times, the Ai will continue with a winning strategy, executing a series of clever moves and provid- ing a serious challenge (or assis- tance, if it’s playing one of your allies). In other games the com- puter appeared to become fixated on a single path to victory and became stuck in a highly repetitive and completely pointless set of exchanges, which led to stalemate. At other times the Al pursued annoying, self-defeating policies. For instance, as the Soviet Union, you depend on immediate and continual assistance from the Western Allies. When playing the Soviets, I helped the British land in Norway early in the game with the expectation that this would facili- tate a second front, taking the pressure off my valiant Red Army troops. Instead, the computer- controlled Brits and Americans both began a major submarine- building campaign despite the complete absence of any kind of maritime threat to either of their shores. Aaargh. Needless to say. the Axis conquered all of Europe and Asia and won handily on points. These glitches aside, AXIS AND ALLIES provides a strong game system (not surprising given the pedigree of the boardgame) that will not only satisfy experienced tabletop gamers but will also give a fun, relatively short beer-and- pretzels alternative to hard-core computer gamers. As with crossover games like SlMClTY, it may aiso attract a wide audience outside the normal confines of strategy games. it's fun, fast, eminently replayable, and enjoyable virtually every time — even when you're los- ing. What more could gamers ask for? Look for Tim Carter's strategy article on PEOPLE'S GENERAL in PC Gaming Expert. Beer-and Pretzels WWII? W hile I generally agree with Tim's assessment of AXIS & Allies — it is unrealis- tic and quite abstract — I disagree with his take on the game's historical flavor or lack thereof. For me, AXIS AND ALLIES has always offered a very broad view of WWII that, while simplistic, still touches on several of the main themes of the war: • If Russia falls, the Allies almost always fall with them. • If the Axis doesn't win fairly quickly, Japan and Germany will eventually lose to the overwhelming might of the U.S. industrial machine. • It's very difficult to knock Britain totally out of the war. • Research is risky and expensive, but getting a super-weapon ilke heavy bombers (there's no A-Bomb in AXIS AND ALUES) can tum the game around quickly. And where Tim and I totally agree is that you can get a lot of people to try AXIS and ALUES. some of whom may eventually move on to THE OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR. Long live beer-and-pretzels wargames! — Terry Coleman '/.coiTiputergamlng.( COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 REVIEW • ENTREPRENEUR: CORPORATE EXPANSION Delivering the Goods CORPORATE EXPANSION PACK Aims to Expand ENTREPRENEUR'S Consumer Base by Lance A. Larka ave you ever had fan- tasies about running the world? About being the CEO of an industrial giant? How you could do a better job than, say, Bill Gates? It's time to test your business savvy with the CORPORATE EXPAN- SION pack for ENTREPRENEUR by Stardock. Following through on its promise, Stardock has come out with a huge expansion pack for ENTREPRENEUR. Now, in addition to the venerable PC market, you can try your hand at selling aircraft, Internet browsers, cars, cereal, cola, shoes, and soda. If you're finished with the original slew of random maps and real-world maps, you get more fictional maps and some computer' 1 WORLD I APPEAL People who want to start their own company but only have S24.95. PROSiNew prod- ucts; lots of humor; tough Al; excellent multiplayer support CONS: A bit expensive for an add-on pack; graphics are of boardgame quality; doesn’t really change the game. DIFFICULTY: Intermediate , REQUIREMENTS: 486DX4-75(Pentium recommended), Windows 95, NT 4.0, or OS/2 WARP 4,0, 1 2MB RAM, 20MB hard-drive space, 2X or faster CD-ROM, DirectX- (or DIVE- under OS/2) sup- pored SVGA video card, original ENTREPRENEUR game. 3D SUPPORT: None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT; Modem (2 players), LAN and Internet (2-8 players). Price: S24.95 Publishef; Stardock Systems Livonia, Ml (800] 672-2338 great, detailed real-world markets (including Australia, Japan, and Singapore) to play with. Dog-Eat-Dog World What sets ENTREPRENEUR apart from other market simulations is a little thing called Direct Action Cards (DAC). These represent the "unmodelable" actions, such as playing golf with rival executives, contributing to a politician's re-eleaion campaign, networking, filing lawsuits, spiking the competi- tion's produa line, starting a war, or just a random act of the market- ing gods. The CORPORATE EXPAN- SION PACK doubles the number of existing cards in play and makes certain cards dependent on the market that you're in. For example, the "starting a war" DAC is only available when selling aircraft, not Internet browsers. (Though internal memos from Mitrosoft and rival Nepscape later show this to be false.) Instead of just adding some new titles and custom maps, Stardock used the EXPANSION PACK to add depth to the game by changing the underlying infrastructure for each product. Each product line now has different components and factors that contribute to its underlying production, research, marketing, sales, and appeal attributes. Some minor changes have been made to the game as well. A lot of players complained that it took too long to expand your company because of the high cost of con- structing facili- ties. Now con- structing new sites and upgrading your buildings at the corporate park is cheaper. But to offset this advantage, they hold fewer workers. It's a good balance in terms of gameplay. Business as Usual When you get right down to the nitty gritty, this is still the same game. You're goal is to bring a bet- ter product to the people, make the quality of their lives better, foster friendly competition with your "rival" companies, and strive for the best one to win. Yeah, right. You want to manipulate the con- sumers, gouge them for all you can, and grind the competition into the dust of history with your boot heel as you laugh your way to the big piggy bank called monopoly. It's good to be a capitalist. You start your company with a basic facility and one sales rep. From there you must expand your region of influence, develop a good marketing strategy to promote your product, engineer improve- ments, keep your employees happy, sidestep the competition, and, incidentally, make a profit. The Al didn't lose anything with the expansion. It proved to be a shrewd operator, time and again pulling itself from the brink of bankruptcy, and had me scram- bling to maintain my positions. Speaking of business savvy, Stardock seems to have taken a cue from its own book of corporate jackaldom and priced the EXPAN- SION PACK at $24.95. That’s more than most add-on packs, and it's pretty steep for a game we give only three stars. Still, if you're itching to see what it feels like to build a company from the ground up, the CORPORATE EXPANSION PACK for ENTREPRENEUR is cheaper than mortgaging your house. ZSI7 Lance A. Larka is currently reliv- ing his childhood by playing the computer version of AXIS & ALLIES. lilik COMPUTER GAMING WORLD « JANUARY 1999 v.computergaming.f A NICHT OUT WITH THE BOYS WII.L BE IHE SAME AGAJN... Tliat’s because it’ll be spent in the company of a captain, a farmer, an archer, a merchant, a priest, a swordsman, a miner, a speannan, a woodcutter... in fact, 150 unique and stunning characters that populate the addictive world of SETTLERS* III. _ ItheI ^ SETO^RS In this real-time strategic simulation of tactics, prosperity, combat and growth you’ll become completely Immersed with your new found friends. Meet the challenge of the gods on screen, over LAN or Internet play. ||p AVAILABLE NOW CALL l-80l)-933-ByTE TO ORDER DIRECT AND RECEIVE FREE SHIPPING! Quote ref; CGWS3BOYS Blue Byte Software • 8H(I North Mopac • Suite IV-230 ■ Austin • T.X 787S9 Tccliiiical Hotline; S12 343 1099 • Fax: 512 343 18H6 Check out; www.settlcrs3.eoni for latest SETTLERS III infiirmution £' 1998 Blue Byte Software. All rights reserved. The Settlors is a registered trademark of Blue Byte Software, Inc. 0 YEARS OF Go to #280 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink REVIEW • WAR ALONG THE MOHAWK French and Indian Ware Neither the French, the Indians, nor the English Fares Well In This Loser by Bob Proctor T he French and Indian War took place in North America about 20 years before the American Revolution. Europe was embroiled in the Seven Years War, and English and French colonists each saw an opportunity to expand at the other's expense. Had this war remained an affair between professional armies it would have been little noticed. But both sides enlisted the aid of natives who took the war to the civilian popu- lace. This should make for a fasci- nating game. But nothing about WAR ALONG THE MOHAWK will excite history buffs or gamers. Who Are You? After choosing to play from either the French or British side. CGMI^tJTER' 1 GAMIN^ APPEAL; Novice gamers with no basis for comparison. PROS: Novel setting and period: somewhat decent price point. CONS: Easy to get dead-ended in this woefully underdeveloped, weak design; multiplayer mode doesn't work, DIFFICULTY: Intermediate. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 100, Windows 95/98, 16MB RAM, 65MB hard-disk space, 2x CD-ROM. 3D SUPPORT: Nona MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: Modem or serial cable (2 players), LAN or Internet {2-4 players); but remember, multipiay doesn't work. Price: S19.99 Publisher: Empire Irteractiue Gaithersburg, MD (800) 216-9706 v.empirestrategy.c IMPLAUSIBLE MISSION Here is our party of five soldiers (and a woman) leaving for their mission. Too bad the sentries aren't smart enough to close the gates. Neither Fish nor Fowl Despite the copy on the box. MOHAWK is hardly the game "where role playing meets real- time strategy." The game is sort of an RPG in single-player mode and sort of a real-time strategy/ wargame in multiplayer mode. The concept for multiplayer is that all players select up to eight charac- ters and fight a war of attrition until only one is left. But in practice it's totally unplayable; as soon as the game starts, all the characters run away and the game ends. The single-player mode has some elements of an RPG but is nowhere close to X-COM or you select a character from about 20 choices that include colonists, army regulars, and Native Americans, Characters are rated in seven basic attributes: health, morale, experience, intelligence, speed, strength, and shooting. There are 1 7 skills, and each char- acter starts with one to four skills and can learn a few more. The type of character you choose has a big influence on the skills available to you. For example, only soldiers can have Barricade or Cannon skills, while only Natives can control ani- mals or wear a deerskin to disguise their appearance. None of the 17 skills involve weapons. Every character uses \nnth only a dagger plus Swimming and Language skills, Juliet is never going to win this game. She can coax big, brawny men to do her fighting for her until she gets to a mission that must be done solo. the weapon he starts with for the entire game. This is a severe limitation since all the characters have to complete the same set of 18 missions. Nearly all these missions involve combat, and if you choose a character with a weaker weapon, it's impossible to com- plete some missions. The only cure, unfor- tunately is to restart the game and pick a better character! How do you improve weapons skill if there's no skill to learn? You buy upgrades at the store, using gold you earn by hunting and selling the skins. Since every character has but eight inven- tory slots, and when they're full you can't carry anything or develop further. JAGGED ALLIANCE. The gameplay is like a bad adventure game in which the too-linear missions must be done in exact order. In MOHAWK you must divine whatever trick the designer intended you to perform: swimming past a sentry, finding an NPC with a special skill, or obtain- ing a needed object like a key. Until you discover it, expect to restart over and over. Native and imported Americans {and Canadians) deserve better than being trapped in such an endless loop of bad history and bad gameplay. 2317 Bob Proctor has been writing for CGW since the first issue. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD ■ JANUARY 1999 ^.computergaming.com Have A Ball This Holiday Season "5 out of 5 stars" if your actual gameplay doesn't improve. See box for details The Ultimate 3D Pool Simulator... Guaranteed # 9 9 9 9 Real-time photo-realistic animation with 3 new texture-mapped pool halls. All new physics model for accurate cue ball/cue stick interface which even allows you to jump balls! 5 new games: 3-Ball, 6-Ball, 10-Ball, Bank Pool and One Pocket, plus the classic line-up of 8-Ball, 9-Ball, Straight Pool and Rotation. Tournament mode with 128 computer opponents and player ranking categories. Adjustable table characteristics (Amateur, Pro and Championship) with 4 settings for each: pocket size, pocket cut, rail cushioning, and table speed. Full simulation of all physical action including friction, speed, collision, roll and true computational ball tracking. ©Ceteris Call 1 -800-INTERPLAY www.interplay.com nv GAMERS. FOR GAjMERS.’ ©1998 Caleris. Inc. All rights reserved. Virtual Pool. Interplay. Iho Produclrons. The APA logo Is a registered Iraclcrrinrk of Ihe Amerit copyrights and trademarks are Ihe property of their respective own Interplay logo and "By Gamers, For Gamers." aro Iradem.irks of Interplay Productions. All rights reserved. Exclusively licensed and dislnbi can Poolplayors Association, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Ihe Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All rights re by Go to #286 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink REVIEW • CREATURES 2 They're Dead, Jim Natural Selection Goes Awry In This Depressing Update by Dawn jGpsen evoted fans of Mind- scape's CREATURES artificial life program have anxiously awaited the arrival of CREATURES 2, which promised Norns genetically complex enough to the likes of Dr. Moreau, a genetic splicing machine for all your mad scientists' needs. I confess I had visions of my own little Galapagos; the strongest and smartest not just surviving, but flourishing, within their changing environment. How little did I realize that these darling, some- times devilish Noms had minds of their own. And this stubborn inde- pendence was going to lead many of these cute little creatures to their demise, despite my best efforts to help them. appeal to as well as computer' 1 GAMII^ WORLD APPEAL: Fans of the original CREATURES looking for a greater challenge, sadists. PROS: The ever- changing and adapting Noms keep gameplay from becoming predictable, despite die constancy of situation and environment CONS: Death-prone Noms make game- play difficult and frustrating; annoying scrolling problems: limited viewing areas make locating Noms challenging. DIFFICULTY: Advanced. REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 166, Windows 95/98, 1 6MB RAM, 2MB video card, 2x CD-ROM drive, t6-bit sound card, 3D SUPPORT: None. MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT: None. Price: $39.99 Publisher: Mindscape Novato, CA (423)670-2022 www,creatures.mindscape.c A Better Place The overall premise of CREATURES 2 doesn't differ tremen- dously from the original; hatch some eggs, help your Norns explore their world, and get down to breeding your very own bio- diverse, genetically mutated Darwinian dynasty. What does differ is the effort needed by the gamer to make all of this happen. Tlie Norns are darling little animals resembling the Mogwai from the film Gremlins. Each Norn contains its own "digital DNA," which sets its distinct char- acteristics — personality, intelli- gence, and even physiology. While basically sweet-natured, some Norns possess a mischievous side. They're extremely affectionate and often even attempt to befriend the likes of the Grendel, a disease- carrying and rather violent little monster. In CREATURES 2, the Norns continue to live in lush and Edenesque Albia. This time, though, its surface has been destroyed by a violent volcano. What remains is a much more primitive and challeng- ing arena in which to raise Norns. The Norns are now far more structurally complex and, as a result, more delicate. The environ- ment is less friendly for dynasty building, but certainly proves more interesting after hours of gameplay. Albia now has seasons, complete with seasonal plants, animals, and variable tempera- tures that affect Norn activity and health. The addition of these vari- ables does not come without its price. I lost 27 Norns within five Albian hours. CREATURES 2 is touted as an arti- ficial life program. After several frustrating hours of play, I was bit- terly referring to it as an artificial death program. I learned the hard way that the new Norns now pos- sess organs, including hearts and lungs. Norns are curious by nature and unfortunately few have little fear regarding the exploration of COMPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY 1999 computei)!.n>iiMg.( SOUTHPEAK ^ ^0/,U jyly tU I. '\U~ ,„A OIA,. rftf u , „ r ^cabining ^wwjftr • Fast-paced, 3D arcade game featuring the off-the-wall humor of Pinky & the Brain • One to Eight Players • Tournament Play available • LAN and Internet Multiplayer options • 20 pre-designed mazes and count- less others available through random maze generation • Build your own mazes with the included maze generator • 3 Types play; percentage of territory, timed play, tag/ keep-away REVIEW • CREATURES 2 boots or unusual hairstyles. These variables all get passed on to create a myriad of distinctly dif- ferent Norns. CREATURES has inspired a community to rivai that of pet breeders. Some of the most popu- lar CREATURES Web pages offer Norn adoption centers. Here, gamers can exchange Norns of unusual colors, personality traits, breeding abilities, or life spans. Also available on many pages are COBs, (CREATURES OBjects). COBs are items created by both Cyber- life and individual gamers. Players will find toys, food, and many objects designed to make life in Albia easier or more interesting. You’ll find links to dozens of sites at wvwv.creatures2.com. water. With several lake and pond areas present in the vast expanse of Albia. it's not difficult to lose a few Norns to drowning. They look quite happy moving about in the water, with no real signs of distress. Eventually however, a drowning Norn will curl up in sleep position and develop little stars over Its head. At that point, the science kit can be opened and your Norn can be injected with defibrillate to restart its heart. Usually, a Norn can be resuscitated in this way, but often they seem "off" for a while. Lemming-like Behavior Albia now has gravity as well. Some Norns appear to have a rather low self-preservation instinct and have little problem stepping off a cliff. While it's not likely that a Norn will die from this, it may injure him and alter his health status. The average life span of a Norn is supposedly about 10 hours, but they can. and do, die in any number of ways much earlier in life. Certainly the most frustrating way in which this happens is from starvation. While most Norns learn to feed themselves at a very young age, approximately half of my initial babies never learned to eat. To make matters worse, because of their increased brain capacity. CREATURES 2's Norns have improved speaking skills. They also now understand concepts, and have an increased variety of facial expressions. So imagine, if you will, your beloved Norn looking right at you with its big. sad eyes and turned-down mouth and saying "Emmie extrmly hngry. Get Mamma," all the while dying next to a big piece of cheese. 1 thought about naming all my Norns after ex-boyfriends to prevent becoming too attached, but eventually 1 just Survival of the Fittest A rare sighting, (right) of a baby Norn actually eating; you'll lose many generations of Norns with Aliy McBeal-iike eating habits early in the game. W ondering how later genera- tions of crea- tures will differ from their forefathers and mothers? Because of distinctiveness of each individual Norn, the genetics in the game mimic real life. Each creature (including the Grendel and the new Albia inhab- itant, the Ettin) has its own DNA. With 550 individual genes to manipulate, there are countless potential Norn varieties. As In life, stronger traits do seem to be passed on to future generations. Once I had several very healthy Norns, many of their babies would begin eating what- ever was nearby without ever being shown to do so. Norns also come in different colors, sometimes with a con- trasting hair color and length. Others have cute little knee Digital DNA ended up exporting them from the program while I learned how to help them. Obviously, I was relieved to learn that I was not a terrible parent. Cyberlife apparently had so many complaints about stupid Norns that the company created new eggs that could be down- loaded from the Web. Since 1 was losing about half of my water- happy Norns to the lake. I also downloaded electric fences for the periphery of all the water in Albia. I named my first new and improved Norn "Hope," on the off chance that her fates may be guided by her name. Alas, she was dead in just 20 minutes. Hope in the End Eventually, I did get several seemingly healthy Norns out of the new batch. The "natural birth" sec- ond generation of Norns possessed greater survival and communication skills, and started living longer and healthier lives. Several generations later I had very few starving, sleepy, or bored Norns. But I wonder how many people will have the patience to watch generation after genera- tion of cute little Norns die before achieving a species with the basic capability to survive? At a point, CREATURES 2 does evolve into a game that's a richer, more challenging, more living ver- sion of the original. But the Norn graveyard will be so littered with corpses by then that many adult gamers will have given up in frus- tration— and young children play- ing the game will probably need counseling after the experience. Get past that point, though, and you'll find that the new, larger Albia does make for a more inter- esting place to raise Norns. CREATURES 2’s 16-bit color graph- ics are gorgeous. Exotic plants and animals abound and change with the seasons. Just be careful — the way to Eden is not as safe as it may seem at first. L’i'iVl When not mourning her lost Norns, Dawn Jepsen's been spend- ing her spare time gamelocked on an emulated version of MILLIPEDE. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 ^.computergaming.com SAVE $100 SAVE $1QQ Biapeps- New “Niagara Strength” Adult Diapers provide the ultimate in adult protection — for those times when you just can’t hold it in! _ This product has been found to be a helpful aid in the playing of the CD-ROM game YOU OONT KNOW JACK® I Yes folks, now you can laugh all you want. The patented sell-activaled LiQui-Guard’“ system absorbs the unsightly mess, I holding it comfortably away from your skin. And now. with our new triple-action heavy-duty reservoir receptacle, you'll stay dry up to 6 games of YDW longer than with the other leading brand. Actual results may vary. Do not use in conjuncfion ^^^with fancy upholstery. Use only as directed. By the way, if you're reading this you have way too much time on your hands. A game this funny requires a certain degree of preparation. Prepare to laugh hard. Reaily hard. The latest YOU DONT KNOW JACK' mixes high culture with pop culture in a fast-paced, trouserdrenching CD-ROM game. It’s JACK like never before. So be prepared to lose it. But be warned: appropriate attire is recommended. The irreverent quiz show party game. BERKELEY 4!MM^ Go to #200 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink '"OH » " 'SSSlerM IraiUmaH ol Bs.kaley Systems, Inc. All Iml and sound (Hlelyysidn Inc. YOU DONT KNOW JACK and the Jellyvision iogo are registered trademarks ol Jellyvision, Inc. ©1998 Sierra Online Inc.® and/or ™ designated trademarks are licensed to Sierra On-Line, Bellevue, WA 98007. STRATEGY • CHEATS • WALKTHROUGHS Rainbow Six How to Make Terrorists Check Out in Body Bags by Robin Kim O kay, rookies: Listen up. In the brutally unforgiv- ing arena of counter- terrorist operations, there are no small mis- takes. With the lives of innocent hostages and the members of your team hanging in the balance, every move must be executed with fore- thought and precision. To help you new recruits rise to the challenge in RAINBOW SIX, we will run through some of the fundamental skills and tactics you must master to succeed in both campaign mis- sions and multiplayer battles. Fire and Movement Each of you has already been trained to maintain maximum con- trol over your weapon as you move so that you can bring it to bear quickly and accurately on targets of opportunity. Nonetheless, there are many ways you can improve your hit percentages in various situa- tions. For example, when sniping from afar, kneel down to improve your aim. And when using an M-16 or CAR-1 5, always fire short, one- to three-round bursts. The accuracy of these powerful weapons deterio- rates so rapidly on full automatic {see "Gun Control" sidebar) that longer bursts are a waste of ammunition unless the target is at point-blank range. How you move also influences the effectiveness of your fire. Stopping, starting, and changing speeds will all temporarily upset your aim. Accuracy does return if you continue the movement (though the larger and heavier the See the Review DECEMBER ISSUE • 3.5 STARS FIELDS OF FIRE By freezing team members in place using the Hold command, then moving team leaders to different positions, you can set up multiple fields of fire prior to entering a room. gives it a huge advantage over assault rifles dur- ing close-range combat. Avoid running forward or back- ward when hos- tiles are liable to pop up. It takes a long time to stop and steady your aim before you can effec- tively return fire. Running side- ways does not have this disad- vantage, allow- ing you to shoot your target while making at least some attempt to evade return fire. This can be effective in mul- weapon, the longer it takes to recover). Consequently, when ene- mies may be present, it pays to glide smoothly out from behind cover — allowing time for your aim to settle before you. reveal your- self— rather than proceed a single step at a time. If you happen to know an enemy is around the cor- ner, one extremely effective tech- nique is to slice the pie (see "Slicing the Pie" sidebar) in one continuous motion — opening up with a burst of automatic weapons fire just before the target comes into view, then walking the reticle onto the tar- get. Only the Heckler & Koch MP5SD5 suppressed submachine gun is con- trollable enough to do this, how- ever, which tiplayer combat, but note that Al- controlled Tangos (terrorists) are undeterred by such fancy footwork; They will still gun you down if you don't shoot them first. Against unarmored targets (or when using a CAR-1 5 or M-1 6, whose 5.56mm rounds can pene- trate any armor), always aim for the target's center of mass to maxi- mize the chance of a hit. With light weapons against armored foes, head shots are preferred. Occasionally, you will be fortu- nate enough to spot the arm or legs of a partially obscured target unaware of your presence. Go ahead and take the shot; damage to those areas can bring down even the best-protected adversary. Make sure you fire off a good long burst, since it usually takes several hits to finish the job. Remember that your goal is to incapacitate. SENSOR GRID If you position subordinates hold- ing heartbeat monitors at strategic locations, you'll get up-to-the-minute information on all enemy locations in a building under siege. COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 Firearms iri RAINBOW SIX are modeled with far greater realism than in any previous first-person shooter. Take a peek inside the Rai/itds by MP5SD5 than their noisier counterparts. Sound and Fury Although somewhat tricky to use. fragmentation grenades and flashbangs (stun grenades) are valuable tools for dealing with hostiles hidden behind cover. In RAINBOW SIX Version 1 .02A, each has an effect radius of eight ' ^ lasts only for a moment, shooting accuracy takes seconds to recover. Finish off your stunned opponent from as far away as possible to minimize your chances of getting hit by a lucky return shot. If you see a flashbang tossed toward you, start running immediately. Your hope is that this will spoil your assailant's aim, let you run to safety before he or she can react, and/or bring you so dose that your shots can't miss even if you're stunned. yext files that define their characteristics, and you'll get useful insights into both the sub- j ylety of the simulation and the practical pros and cons of each weapon. The files a not just to \ in the Rainbow Six\Data\Kit folder; each has a pw or sw prefix. / effect wound. Your sidearm generally will \ The key attributes of each gun are: ammo type, magazine size, rate of fire, i not get much use. but don t forget \ sniper mode magnification, accuracy, accuracy change with each round / that it S there. If you re caught with an \^fired, and reticle time constant multiplier. Though most attributes a empty dip in the middle of a firefight, \ self-explanatory, the last two deserve special attention, you can draw your pistol in a third of the \ Accuracy change applies mostly to fully automatic weapons; j time it takes to reload your primary weapon. \ it determines how much the reticle size (probable impact / The two seconds you save can be decisive. \ area) grows with each shot in a burst. The larger the j When stealth is not mandatory, keep in mind \ number, the more quickly you lose control when / that silenced pistols are considerably less accurate trigger, As a graphic example, y ^compare the two images above — each of/ '.which depicts the effects of an entire clip j yeing fired while smoothly moving the/ \ aim point from ieft to right. Note / grenades \that the pattern of bullet holes/ and to avoid surprises in general bring \ made by the M-I6 shows how/ “'“"9 heartbeat monitors on any mission that doesn’t already provide real-time intelligence on terrorist locations «v,-„ f i, ui I JL II ... " 'll reduce your accuracy / ^''0'^ external sources. If you don't want to carry a monitor ZZ : “7' a I a \“ Aftir/ y^'^eit give it to one of your teammates for use when the mdoors, try 0 bank grenades oB doors or waiis so that they \ ^ / Advance ruies of engagement are in effea bounce safe^ out o your iine of sight before exploding. Just be \ Heartbeat monitors are aiso invaioabie for multiplayer combat ertam you have a dear opening thmugh which to throw first-hav- \ c.„,„s,/ in urban settings. With a large team, assigning one person to scan ing your grenade stopped by a doorjamb so it lands at your feet can \ , h j ,/ ahead for hostiles can be a great force multiplier. Because any con- mm your who e day Assuming all goes well, listen for grunts from the V / tacts the scanner detects also show up on all other team members' other side of the wall after the boom. If you don't hear any, then either V "laP^ r teammates can concentrate on fighting known enemy posi- " H °u‘ A elearing eve^ space they cross into in A fragmentation grenade is usually lethal all by itself for flash- / vlthX fear of hidden threats. Even if you are on your own, a heartbeat bangs, ready a weapon immediately after the throw and charge in / the .e,y\ monitor lets you set up devastating ambushes and avoid the It you hear any grunts. In version 1 ,00, the amount of time the / tight pattern of\ victims remain stunned depends on their state of alertness y/ bullet holes made byS and can be as short as a half a second. Version 1 .02A /ths much more manage-'' extends this to three seconds regardless of initial alert- / MPSSDS submachine gun. ness— plenty of time to finish them off. Even if the / attribute— reticle time’N enemy is too far away to be stunned by the blast, / constant multiplier— determines the speedN it can still serve as a useful diversion. As the / with which the reticle size shrinks after you fire o, ^. a 'j t u l enemy turns toward the sound to see what is / feflectlng how easy a particular weapon is monitors, the other going on, you have a chance to move in / with the m -16 and the shotgunX eggheads in R&D have put in quickly and take them from the side / \ dispensed Flashbangs are not commonly / “ben selming your armamont.\ “ensive training each of used in multiplayer games which /*“ault rifles are unmatched lor long-range, single-shot sniping, and they pack\ V"" ’'““'''d enables any team lets you catch many opponents / “ ° battle when you don't have much time to aim, theX "'='"*>er to perform any lock pick- off auard While the hlinHinn / 9'''® ™ke all the difference, \ 1^9. elearonics, or demolition ^ task successfully without same. This is particularly true against misguided opponents ^ who choose not to carry monitors. Despite the heartbeat monitor's utility, it can’t see into different stories. So be extra careful around staircases and ladders. Bombs and Baggage aim. Handguns are best here, with the M-16 and the shotgun > COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 RAINBOW SIX CHECKPOINTS Assigning Go codes just short of natural stopping points, such as doorways and corners, allows flex- ible control of a team's rate of advance. Controlling multi- ple teams is easiest if you use a unique Go code for all of a particular team's checkpoints (e.g., Go code ALPHA for all of Blue Team's stops). If you want multiple teams to move out at once, you issue all appropriate Go codes simultaneously. §U€ing the Pie E ntering rooms and rounding corners requires great caution since these are the most common pre- ludes to confronta- tions with armed foes. Against an alert enemy, the only safe way to do this is with a tech- nique called "slicing the pie." The idea is to sidestep, bringing successive wedge-shaped sections (hence the name) of the room or space beyond a corner into view. By methodically scanning a room from one side to the other in this manner, you can be sure that any enemy present will not be able to see you before you see him. Keeping your aim point right at the edge of your cover allows you to react quickly if a threat is eventually spotted. Compare this to just waltzing straight into a room and having to instantly scan about 180 degrees of space for gunmen — a surefire recipe for disaster. it is usually best to do this in one smooth motion. Starting from a stop upsets the accuracy of your aim when you need it most. On the other hand, you can sometimes reveal just a part of your opponent's body, like his arm, allowing you to attack from concealment. Which method is best depends on how far you and your target are from the opening. The far- ther each is, the better the step' by-step method becomes. special kits— it simply takes a bit longer. Anyone with high skill levels in those areas will usually get the job done fast enough anyway. Door-breaching charges can sometimes be handy for killing or stunning threats on the other side of a locked door. However, either picking the lock and lobbing in a grenade or simply blowing up the door with a grenade in the first place can be equally effective. As an aside, locked doors can also be shot open by any weapon — not just a shotgun as the manual implies. A shotgun will sim- ply do it the fastest with a mere three blasts (as opposed to 10 blasts for 5.56mm ammo, 12 for .45 cal- iber, and 30 for 9mm). We could go on about other strat- egy apects of RAINBOW SIX, such as the pros and cons of keeping multi- ple teams close together for mutual support versus splitting them up for multipronged attacks, but we have run out of time. Use what you have learned today, keep your reflexes sharp, and bring those hostages and yourself back in one piece. Dismissed. S33 Once the enemy is uncovereo, I® him, so you simply need to pull the trigger to take him down COMPUTER GAMING WORLD » JANUARY 1999 SMAO B . The touier you designed at Uiaikiki is the ultimate tourist magnet. $380B-a- night hotel suites. Duty free shopping. Korean BBO restaurants. Vou’re packing them in. Unfortunately, the same could be said for your only eieuator. Vou better spend the dough to build more or the tourists will go to Miami and you’ll be taking the enpress car to bankruptcy, luuiw.yootpc.com VOOT'TOlilBr I vou BUILD IT. VOU DEflL UJITH IT. Scorpia's Mail CGW 's Resident Adventure Expert Returns From Remodeling Her Dungeon W ell, it's been quite a while since we were last here in the mail room. Then again, there haven't been that many games this year, and so far, the autumn isn't shaping up too well in the new products depart- ment, either. The way things are looking, /Tall those promised adventures show up, they're all gonna hit at around the same time — namely late October to mid-November. In the meantime, here are some hints for games that some of you are still strug- gling with. BLACK DAHLIA the most difficult of all): gemstone. Simply type in the word while you have a close-up of the puzzle. Using the codes has no other effect on gameplay— unless you count the number of gray hairs and ulcers you miss thereby. TEX MURPHY: OVERSEER On your second visit to the Law & Order offices, you get to play around in the Reception Hall, as long as you're not caught by the video camera. So. you need to block the camera. What you need is something that looks like the room. A lot like it {you'll want to read up on this). And. of course, a handy little item nearby to, ah, heighten the effect, as it were. This game, with its multitude of manipulation puzzles, has annoyed a lot of people. Many of those puz- zles, however, can be bypassed by using cheat codes (bet you didn't know about that, eh?). Here are three to get you past some of the more irritating ones. For the Raven Room invitation seal: ringding. For the folding invitation card; triangle. And, for the runestone {possibly Might & Magic 1/1 F rom our Dirty Tricks department, here is a little (ahem) undocu- mented feature you can make use of if you need money. Note that this works only in the original, unpatched version of the game, and you'll have to sweat for it. Specifically, after you have found the treasure of the obelisks, the STARSHIP TITANIC Not a vessel I'd like to take a trip on, but sometimes you don't have a choice. Anyway, there's an important item in the broken light in the parrot's room; per- haps you've already noticed it yourself. To get it, you have to be truly hosed as well as Busted. And while we're speaking of par- rots, getting his perch is no easy matter. You have to hold the goodie to the extreme left {almost, but not quite, off the screen) and be ready to grab at the right moment. Timing is important here, but so is keeping the yummy as far away as possible. chest always refills with gold once you've left the sector. So if you drop a beacon right there, you can teleport back any time you need a little cash. Very handy for those expensive training ses- sions late In the game. BATTLESPiRE F or those hardy souls still playing tiiis one, here's a handy tip. Occasionally, it’s possible to repair worn-down items. Here and there around the Spire are restoration chests (empty, of course, when you find them). Putting an item into one of the chests restores it to full durability. A chest can be used only once> but you can carry it with you until if s needed. Many thanks to Ulises Victoria of Mexico for passing this one along. CURSE OF n/IOiUKEY ISLAIUD G uybrush has his hands full trying to scare up a crew for his ship (kinda reminds me of the original game, heh). One of these jolly sailors is Haggis McMutton. He's the brawny type, and there's no way our boy can beat him at caber tossing. Well, not unless one cheats a bit. Something lightweight in trees would do the job^if you could just get it into the pile. This is a rum situation, and a little fireworks could be heip* ful here— especially if you cut to the heart of the matter first. ZORK: GRAND INQUISITOR Having a good time poking around GUETech? No? Maybe those lockers, or at least one of them, is giving you a little trou- ble, The one that has no button on the vending machine, for instance. Violent tactics are required here; you'll need to use the rock and roll (or maybe that should be blow) method. Well fizzed (cup not required), the stuff will do the job when it's popped into the right place. Don't hang around in the vicinity. though; we need you alive to save the world. Until next time, happy adventuring! £233 Visit Scorpia Internet’ www.scorpia.com Email. scorpia@scorpia,com IRC chat: Thursdays, 9:30 p.m. E5T (port: 6667; server: scorpia.com). U.S. mail Scorpia, P.O. Box 338, Gracie Station, New York, NY 1 0028. (Enclose a sell-addressed, stamped envelope if you live in the U.S.) CO/vtPUTER GAMING WORLD - JANUARY •\9S9 There’s an easier way to experience force feedback. ■f N For the most realistic gaming experience you've ever had. get your liands on the It’s a whole new vibe. Jarring explosion.s. Shuddering recoils, Ceiitrirugal force. Gravitational pull. Revolutionary I-FORCli" technology uses high-precision steel ctible drives, so you can feel the force in every fiber of your being. Every sensation. Every vibration. Every titlllation. Every mutilation. Nine programmable weapon buttons. Integrated throttle wheel. A 16-bit Intel’ controller chip. And cuslomixable feedback software. Push tile stick that pushes back. And feel your pain /. It’s what you touch."' y; Go to #240 @ www.computergaming.com/lnfoliny V!) C i ■Mr. GANGSTERS' Wanna be a I gangster in the 1920's?! Control an organization dealing in extortion, illegal liquor, prostitution, vio- lence, intimidation, gam- bling, gang warlare, hriberv of otticials, perma- nent elimination of individ- uals and a host of money- I making activities. Maintain, la decent and iionest repu- tation on me surface by I supporting good causes, ! heiplngme police and rur- ' nlng legitimate business- es. Balance these two per- sonas to gain influence and control over the city. Eldos (Strategy) Release: 11/98 PC CD 'FIGHTER SQUADRON: SCREAMIN' DEMONS OVER aflects handling . Activision (Simulation) Reiease: 11/98 PC CD I 'LINKS LS 1999' Features Arnold I Palmer S others at St Andrews I Links Old Course, a new tourra- ■ men environment, 3D ob]ects, j internet voice chat, and over 25 ■ ms for ectator ; chat. CHIPS&BITSinc. 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Sound Cards Diamond Monster MX200 06/98 $139.99 Sound Blasler LIVE 08/98S179.99 Turl Beach Monlego A3DX06/98 $89 99 Video Cards ATI Rage Fury 32MB 10/98$27999 Canopus Spectra 2500 10/98S18999 Diamond Viper V550 PCI 01/MS189,99 Omd Mnsir Fusion AGPIS 10/98 $149 99 DmndMn5lr3DII12MB 06/985199.00 COMPUTER GAMES : ADVEHTURE I 11/97 $35.99 02/99 $39.99 12/98 $46 99 oe.rss $38.99 10/98 $169.99 05/98S107.99 ia96 $42.99 10/96Sl2g.99 10/93 $65.99 Bulthd Do U 01/99 $45.99 Beyond Time Black Dahlia Myst 2; Riven Nightlong: Union City Nodiirne Omlkron: Nomi Patriot Games Quest lor Glory 5 Soul I 'NORTH VS, SOUTH' Relive the , of the Eastern h Civil War. ! or Union , ...jsatlslBull Run, Gettysburg, I The Wilderness and more. Integral I command system emphasizes leadership in this turn-based his- ilorical wargame. Play an entire I campaign or stand-alone battles I solo, head-lo-head over modem, 'METAL GEAR SOLID' redefines the aclion/adventure genre on I Playstation. It's a spy action I I thriller that involves covert activi- ' I ties, and tons of weapons & com- munications gear. The movle-like I plot puls you right in the middle of I friendship, Petr.ival, & even ttempt to y mission. 'SONY PLAYSTATION' CD quality sound & lull Ii3ii.^ V' 0 ?r: at 30 Irames/sec. This tan tender I Id 360,000 polynci i;:-' smo I & seamless giapnii . r.jaiisiic digital I lighting & lextuie rnappirig, & 360 degree camera |•■i..vemertl I in Ihe action all limes Includes I controller, backup /••'. .'■/ cable & I TV connector, Descent Freespe Exp Pk 10/98 $19 99 Sin Mission Pack 1 DFJediKriigniW/Sith 09/98 $39.99 SpecOpsAddOn 10/98 $2999 OaikSideol 03/98 $39.99 SpecOps 04/98 $47 99 Dead Unity Star Trek KlmgHniGid 10/98 $44.59 Enemy Zero Star Trek KlingonAcadniy 01/99 $48 99 Evil CoreiFallen Cities Siarsiege: Tribes Tenchu Tomb Raider 3 Die by the Sv/ord Dieby the Sword Exp Pk 10/98 $1999 Duke Nukem Forever 12/98 $48 99 Halt Lie: Tm FUtss 2 Heavy Gear 2 Heretic 2 Hexen 2 Hexmaker Incoming Inteisiate 76 Arsenal Inierslate 82 11/98 $24.99 11/98 $48 99 11/98 $45.99 10/98 $43.99 Glim Fandango 11/98 $48.99 Gruesome Castle Darkness 11/98 $39,99 10/98 $43.99 9 $46.99 ck Orlando 06/90 $34.99 Journeyman Prelect 3 02/99 $45.99 Vigilance 11/98 $25.99 09/98 $44.99 02/98 $29.99 10/97 $42 99 09/98 $39.99 12/98 $46.99 10/98 $45.59 10/98 $42.99 1198 $39.99 1098 $39.99 1098 $47 99 Star Tik sir Fit 09/98 $35.99 Mchne 0299 $43.99 0199 $43.99 02/93 $29.99 11/93 $48.99 1098 $39.99 Siege 0l Slormhaven SouIBnnger Space Circus Slar Trek SFADVD Slaiship Starship Titanic DVD Twinsen's Odyssey Wheel ol Time X-FilesArlveniuioGame 0698 $46.99 Zdtk: Grnd Inquisitor 1097 $39.99 0199 $39.99 0996 $43.99 1198 $48.99 0998 $39.99 0299 $44 99 1198 $45.99 0598 $39 99 1098 $46.99 1198 $47.99 1298 $44.99 0798 $44 99 0997 $38 99 04/98 $39.99 10/98 $48.99 0797 $29.99 12/98 $46.99 COMPUTER GAMES: SPORTS, Baseball Mogul Wrld Srs 1198 $28.99 FPSSkiing99 Bass Masters Cissc TE 0998 $39.99 Knockout Kings Big Ail 1298 $37 99 Links Extreme Big Game Hunter 2 1098 $22 99 Linh5LS99 1090 $17.99 MaadenNFL99 Binsv/ckCrct Pro Bowing 1098 $39.99 NBA Live 99 1098 $39 99 PGA Championship Gdtl 1098 $26.99 1198 $44.99 ProlSWoildXourGoll 1098 $25 99 SalaiiHunler 1096 $39 99 Strike Zone 1098 S39.99 Tiger 99 1198 $42.99 Tiger 99 Vegas Courses 1098 $39.99 Trophy Buck 10/90 $35 99 VH Foolball 1943 Euro Air War Alpha Centauri C&C2 ;sMSM3 Papulous 3 Quest lor Glory 5 Railroad Tycoon 2 0998 $17 99 RainbovrSix 1298 $16.99 RelurnloKfondor 0998 $17.99 Revenanl 1196 $10.99 SiniCllySOC 1198 $16.99 SIh 11/98 $16.90 Starcratl 11/98 $16.99 Siarsiege 1198 S16.99 Thief Dark Pralect 1198 $19.99 UilimaS.Ascension 1093 516.99 Ullinia Online 2nd Age 1198 $16.99 Uprising 2 02/99 $1699 Weigames I I PCiBUNDLES 12/98 $16.99 1093 $17 99 11/98 $16.99 $1999 nve 1098 $29 99 1098 $49.99 0998 $39 99 iundle 09.98 $44.99 Coll Ed 0993 $36.99 esCE 1098 $37.99 Compilain 1198 $29.99 eilng 1098 $29.99 10/96 $32 99 09/98 $46.99 Tot Annlhiltn Comm Pk 11/98 $46.99 Ultimate Flight Srs 3 09/98 S39.99 Ultimate Racing Sis 2 0998 $39.99 Ulllmale Wizardry Aichives1D.'98 $26.99 UilimateWW2GmeClictn 10/98 538.99 World ot Combai 2000 09.98 $37 99 X-Treme Flight Pack 09.98 $37.99 142 SONY PLAYSTATION Alien Resurrection 0199 Apocalypse 1198 Armored Core Pio| Phan 1098 Battleship 0199 Bombermn Plianlasy Race0199 Brave Fencer Musashi 1198 Brigandlne 'f/96 Bushido Blade 2 10/98 C&C Red Alert Retal 09/98 Clock Tower 2 1196 Cool Boarders 3 10/98 Crash Bandicool Warped 1198 Duke Nukem Time Kill 1098 ESPN X Games ProBrdr 1098 Eggs ol Steel n/9B $44 99 $39 99 $36.99 $39 99 $44.99 $46.99 $44.99 $42.99 $42.99 $42.99 8 $39 99 B $39.99 9 $54 99 8 $39.99 8 $43.99 9 $46.99 8 $43.09 $42 99 $44.99 $44.99 $44 99 8 $54.99 8 $42 99 6 $46.99 8 $42 99 8 $42.99 . Hockey 99 Ninia Shadow Darkness OddWoild Abe's Exodus Parasite Eve R4;Ridge Racer Type4 Rival Schools Silhoutte Mirage Sony PSX 7000 Sulkoden 2 Tales ol Destiny Thrill Kill Tomb Raider 3 Uprising X Xenogears Oa/98 542.99 10/98 $44.99 11/98 $44.99 09/98 $49.99 03/99 $46.99 10/98 $42 99 01/99 $44.99 01/99 $43 99 06/98$139.99 12/98 $45.99 10/98 $44.99 10/98 $46.99 12/98 $49.99 12/98 $4299 la'Oe $46 99 Casllevai Cruis'n the World F-Zeto 64 Jet Force Gemini Legend ol Zeida Madden Foolball 99 N64 Sysiem NBA In Ihe Zone 99 NFL OB Club 9' . Breakaway 99 Perlect Dark Snowboard Kids 2 StarWars:Rogue Squ Turok Dinosaur Hums WCW/NWO Revenge 02fl9 $55.99 10, •98 $52.99 10/98 $52.99 02/99 $62.99 11/98 $62.99 09/98 $53.99 09/96 $139.99 02/99 $56.99 11/98 $64,99 11/98 $54.99 02/99 $62.99 02/99 $56.9! Id 12/98 $54. 99 I 2 10/98 $64.9! m-BB $64.9! ‘RAILROAD TYCOON 2’ Intricate cargo mb and a dynamic financial environment set the stage for yoj to show the v/orld what a trie . Robber Baron is capable of. Schedule train routes, lay rail, build stations, trade stocks, & take over companies. An intuitive inter- face, beautiful terrain, detailed rolling stock & attractive buildings are sure to please the most dedi- cated train enthusiasts. ^Micraprose (Strategy) Release; 11/98 PC CD SID M.EIER^S iu ip - M ^ Title Reliul Friu lOSiK 01/99 $42.99 AOSD BirtiifigW 07/97 $27.99 Admiral Sea BaWes 11/96 S18.99 Ags Empires fini Conqst 07/98 $18.99 AgeolEmpires 10/97 $29.99 AgeotEmprsRiseRme 11/98 $29.99 02/99 $46.99 C&CS 12/98 $45.99 01/99 $43.99 09/98 $42.99 02/98 $26.99 05/98 $26.99 02/99 $39.99 09/98 $39.99 2 10/98 $17.99 11/98 $44.99 11/98 $48.99 1097 $19.99 11/96 $19.99 l« Survivor 0nlrie12/97 $25.99 10/98 S29.99 pPlus 05/97 $29.99 s 11/95 $22.99 lasyWorlfls 11/97 $19,99 liplayerGoldEd 10/98 $27.99 ■OlTlrre 11/98 $48.99 11/96 $23.99 01/99 $45.99 09/98 $29.99 11/98 $46.99 11/96 $15.99 06/97 $25.99 09/98 $35.99 01/98 $14.99 03/98 $37.99 09/97 $39.99 04/98 $19.99 07/98 $26.99 Deadlock 2 Dominant Species Dominion Storm Duel: Mags Wars Dune 2 Dune 2000 Dungeon Keeper Dungeon Keeper Gold Eanh2140 Echelon Emergency Emperor ol Eadng Suns Enemy Nalions Entrepreneur Evolullon Extreme Tactics Force Commander Fragile Allegiance Freedom in Galaxy Galilean Conflict Gangsters Global Dominaiion Golgotha Hard war Heroes M&M 2 Heroes M&M 2 Exp Pk Heroes of M S M 3 Hidden Wars 03/98 $39.99 10/98 $39.99 06/98 $22.99 10/98 $39.99 11/97 $14.99 09/93 $39.99 07/97 $14.99 04/98 $19.99 10/97 $14.99 10/98 $44,99 09/98 $19 99 01/97 $18.99 04/97 $19.99 10/97 $38.99 01/98 $29.99 10/98 $48.99 02/99 $49.99 03/97 $14.99 03/99 $42.99 02/99 $ 11/98 $35.99 11/98 $39.99 10/98 $43.99 10/98 $41.99 03/98 $35.99 12/97 $26.99 10/98 $39.99 11/96 $19.99 'k 06/97 $28.99 07/98 $39.99 10/97 $19.99 03/97 $15.99 09/98 $37.99 12/96 $15.99 MAX 2 06/98 325.99 MechCommander 07/98 $29.99 MechCommandetExpPckl2/9S $29.99 Missn FrciCybrstrm 2 06/96 $36.99 MTG Duels Pianeswalker 02/98 $19.99 11/97 $19,99 MAX Homev/orld Imperialism Imperialism 2 Impetium Galaciica Incu ballon IncubatlomWilderness Industry Giant KKND2 KKND Extreme 08/98 $14.99 11/96 $19.99 05/97 $19.99 03/99 $44.99 11/98 $46.99 05/97 $34.99 12/97 $39.99 11/98 $48.99 08/97 $29 99 11/98 $44.99 06/97 $32.99 10/97 $38.99 05/98 $19.99 04/98 $36.99 10/98 $34.99 10/97 $19.99 COMPUTER GAMES: WAR 11/98 $43 99 11/97 $19.99 09/97 $19.99 11/97 $26.99 11/97 $18.99 11/98 $45.99 03/99 $36.99 03/98 $28.99 8 $46 99 11/96 $26.99 11/98 $47.99 05/97 $39.99 10/98 $26.99 04/97 $19.99 10/98 $35.99 Seven KmgdmsAncAdv 06/98 $34.99 Seven Kingdoms 2 11/98 $39,99 Shadowpact 02/99 $43.99 SimCity 2000 Spec £d 04/97 S18.99 SlmCity 3000 SimSafari SimTunes Soldiers al Wat Star General Star Trek Birth Fed Slar Trk Starlll Comm SlatCon Starcraft Slarcratt Brood Wars Starcraft Bill Chest Siarcrali Insurrection Starcraft Retribution Starcraft Stllr Forces Stars Twinpack Slratosphere SWAT 2 Theme Hostpital Theocracy Total Annhltn Kingdoms Total Annihilation Toial Anniln Or CIgcy Toll Annhltn Bill Teles Tribal Rage Uprising 2 Warol Ihe Worlds WarBreeds Warcratt 2 Platinum Wargames Wathmmr 40k Ohs Gate Warlords 3 Warlrds 3 Drk Lrd Rsg Warwind 2 War2one2IOO Worldcratl Pro Worms 2 Worms Armageddon X-Com Apocalypse X-Fire 03/98 $1999 11/98 $39.99 07/98 $39.99 11/96 $45.99 08/97 $14.99 08/98 $34 99 11/97 $34.99 02/99 $35.99 10/98 $39.99 01/98 $24,99 12/98 $39.99 08/97 $19.99 01/99 $45.99 in Normandy10/98$35.99 ! 09/97 $39.99 : 01/98 $44 99 1940 12/98 $37.99 03/99 $42.99 02/99 $41.99 als 11/97 $46.99 12/98 $46.99 Mist 05/98 $23.99 k1-5ea 09/98 $22.99 11/97 $39,99 ) 03/98 $19.99 11/97 $28.99 03/96 $29.99 06/97 $34.99 11/97 $29.99 10/98 $29.99 07/98 $32.99 10/98 $42.99 11/98 $37,99 2ea10/98 $22.99 OperUonlA/l olWar Pacific General Pacific Tide Panzer General 2 Panzer General 3 Panzetoliiz Peoples General Road IP Moscow Semper Fi Sid Meier's Genysbtg Steel Panthers 3 Steel Panthers Arsenal Storm in the West TACOPS 98 06/'9S $39 99 07/97 $29.99 10/96 $45.99 10/97 $33.99 03/99 $44.99 03/99 $42,99 09/98 $39.99 02/99 $37.99 02/98 $32.99 10/97 $22,99 11/97 $26.99 05/98 $36.99 04/98 $33.99 02/99 $35.99 11/98 $26.99 09/98 $19.99 ROLE PLAYING | [f PC: ADULT GAMES | COMPUTER GAMES: ROLEPLAYING D&D Collector's Ed. 07/98 $15.99 LandsolLore3 11/98 f 10/98 $45.99 Legcykain BIO Omn 09/97 ! 11/98 $44.99 Mighl&Magic 6 04/98 $37.99 Axis & Allies 12^7 $32.99 Might & Magic 6 LE 05/98 $54.99 Bitter Woods 07/97 534.99 Mordor2 12/98 $42.99 Deluxe Diplomacy 11/98 $45.99 Morlalus 10/98 $44.99 Empire Builder 10/97 $29.99 Nox 12/98 $47,99 For The People 10/98 $44.99 Planescapa Torment 05/99 $47.99 03/99 $48.99 Rage ol Mages 10/98 $37.99 09/98 $2999 Realms ol the Haunting 03/97 $19.99 12/97 $17.99 Revenant 03/99 $29.99 03/99 $54.99 Septeira Core 01/99 $44.99 Starship Diplomacy 10/98 $39 99 Swords & Sorcery 06/98 $32.99 Swords of Heroes 01/98 $19.99 Thiel: The Dark Prjet 12/98 $48.99 Third World 09/93 $25.99 Ultima 9 Ascension Ultima Online; 2n0 Age Wizardry 8 DM Guide 02/95 S Aiternily Player's Handbook04/98 $ Ars Magica4lh Ed 08/95 S CallolCihuIhuSihEd. 07/98 S Conspiracy X 09/96 $ Deadlands RuleboDk 10/97 $ DragonlanceSthAge 09/96 $ Earthdawn OB/95 $ GURPS Rulebook 02/95 $: Heavy Gear 08/95 S: MERP 2 Sollcover 10/95 $ Mage Sorcerer Crusade 10/98 $: Marvel Super Heroes 09/98 $; Mechwarrior 07/95 $' Roboiecti 04/95 $■ Shadowrun 2nd Ed 12/94 S: Traveller 09/96 S; Ttinily 03/98 $; Vampire 3td Edition 10/98 $2 World of Darkness 06/95 $1 BOARD GAMES FREE GAME OFFER! I free IBM game the corresponding list. Reguesl must be made at time of order. Oiler good Dck sollwate only, while supplies last. Lfrall 2 per customer. Valid through 12/31/98. Spend $60 British Open Golf CD, Empire 2 CD, Nemesis CD, Spaceward HdI i CD Spend SIDQ ATP Gold CD,CyberJudas CD. M.A.X. CD, Star Trek Omnipedia CO as cash. COD S8. Price, release, availability, shipping limes ; may require added S&H, Within 10 clays defectives repaired or replaced at sales final. S&H calculated on a per order, per shipment, and per item basis. Go to #064 @ www.computergaming.com/mfolink ■TOMB RAIDER IN’ Lara's off to even more exotic locations this time around, from the blistering deserts of India to the lush islands of the South Pacific. Now you can choose your destiny by selecting the order in which you play each of the four adventures. Revamped game engine, nev/ reflection system, vastly improved Al, new special effects (rain, snow, tire, & more). Eidos (Aclion) Release: 12/98 COMPUTER GAMES: STRATEGY I ‘ALPHA CENTAURI’ From Ihe I developer ol Civilization & Gettysburg. A mother ship's human cargo lleeing earth in the 22nd century splits into 7 factions in route to the self-tilled destina- tion. Colonists can terraform land, changing topography to suit needs, Determine your infant civ- ilizations modus operendi. Design your own military units. I Electronic Arts(Strategy) I ‘BALDUfl'S GATE’ is set in the legendary Forgotten Realms cam- paign world. It features a trans- parent interface and gameplay that uses a real-time modification ol the Advanced Dungeons S Dragons rules system. There are over 60 monsters to fight, you control a party of six each with unique abilities and personas. Interplay (Roleplaying) Release: 11/98 PC CD ijucj pre 'THIEF; THE DARK PROJECT' Thief's brand-new engine, called the Dark Engine, allows for a high degree of texture detail. This first- person shooter requires more patience than brawn; study guard's patrol patterns, shroud yourself in shadow, & tiptoe stealthily Irom room to room as you make your way through the levels. Eidos (Roleplaying) Release:™ Cmm EDGE TIPS CHEAT CODES HINTS WALKTHROUGHS Strategy/Wargames -w L ong-range guns can also provide counter-battery fire, allowing you to start your turn with the other side's artillery already weakened. Since enemy helicopters are a nasty business, devote some resources to your own air defense and SAM units. Mobile air-defense units are crucial to victory on both sides, and are well worth the expense. Once you have enough artillery and air defense, it's time to invest in some choppers. The replacement rules now make it critical that you destroy rather than just damage enemy units. It’s gener- ally a good idea to hold one or two units in reserve during your turn to mop up badly hurt— -but not entirely dead — enemies that will otherwise appear next turn at full strength. Tanks and helicopters are most useful in this regard. — Tim Carter To access the cheats: 1) Press t (or the button you have assigned for messages) 2) Type one of the codes listed below 3) Hit the Enter key Code Result Mpclip You fly and pass through walls Mpgod Makes you invincible Mpkfa Gives all weapons and full ammo Mptears Gives you unlimited ammo — Terry Coleman wimmmm. CREATURES 2 T he Science Kit includes various elixirs that you can inject into unhealthy Norns in an attempt to prolong their lives. Good luck— fHE OPERATIONAL ART OF S hips can impede movement along coastal roads: Move your task force next to the road and let it sit there. This is especially useful in the Sicily. D-Day, and Korea scenarios. Massed artillery bombardment can do the work of a conventional attack if you don't have WAR the necessary offen- sive troops, For instance, the Italian artillery at Tobruk can batter the British garison during the Cn/sac/er scenario, even though the accompanying infantry probably isn't up to storming the fortress outright, Similarly, artillery and carpet bombing by N B-29 bombers can damage the North I Koreans stacked up around the Pusan i perimeter in Korea until the Americans i counterattack with ground forces. A skillful delaying retreat, necessary • in many scenarios, requires careful use i I of mobile troops. Sometimes you may ! need to dig in and fight for dear life, ' but more often you only need to slow UllaBij} enemy, either to beat a deadline or - { ■’ , ; to wait for reinforcements. When delay- If ing, leave your troops in mobile mode and don't dig in. Your defenders should have as many spare movement points as possible and should remain in minimize-casualties mode. You can compensate for the lack of fortifications by locating units on rough terrain or in urban areas. Staying mobile allows your troops to retreat without taking too much damage. If you're worried about engagement, try to plan ahead to have a clear retreat path for your units. If you can, leave a second defending unit behind, thus ensuring a path and also providing support so that if the attackers follow up and hit the now retreated unit, your second defender can take the brunt of the attack. Against a human oppo- nent who's in a rush or suffering from bad reconnaissance, use this technique to give the attacking units a nasty surprise. —Tim Carter PEOPLE'S GENERAL Adventure/RPC ▼ FINAL FANTASY VII Gold Saucer, where adventurers come from all over Sorpigal to race thoroughbred Chocobo. If you breed a gold Chocobo and ride your steed to victory in the S-class races, you will be rewarded with Counter Attack materia. Each Counter Attack entitles the wearer to — you guessed it — one potential counterattack in normal combat. So, grabbing a number of these instantly boosts the firepower of your party. When you win enough races in the S-class, you'll get a prize package that includes a pair of Sprint Shoes, which grant automatic haste in battle. And for our runners-up, there's always Rice-A-Roni, the multidimensional retreat. {Yes, we're kidding; buy your own vermicelli — Ed.). Worthy heroes should also prove their prowess in the Battle Square, earning battle points to buy Speed Plus and Pre-Emptive materia, Cloud's Omnislash manual, and W-Summon (which allows a character to cast two summon spells per turn). Once you have purchased Omnislash and W-Summon and have killed the Ultimate Weapon, have Cloud learn Omnislash, and equip him with his ultimate weapon and W-Summon. Then enter the Battle Square for a special series of battles. If you win, your prize is the Final Attack mate- ria that lets you cast a connected spell before dying: Attach it to Phoenix or Revive. When you're fighting in the Battle Square, be sure that you have Big Guard, White Wind, and some attack spells; spell effects will carry over from battle to battle. A Ribbon is very helpful in protecting you against most status effects, and you should cast Big Guard fairly early on, then cast Regen when you become worried about hit points. Other useful materia to equip are Restore, Counter Attack, HP Absorb, and MP Absorb attached to Deathblow or other materia. Steal Mime, HP Plus, MP Plus, and Speed Plus are also helpful if they fit with your fighting style. Remember that all ill effects from fighting in the Battle Square (including death) last only while you're in the arena, —Petra Schiunk msmmmsa INDEPENDENCE WAR Code Result Dock with any vessel Left-shift + k Explode targeted ship Left-shift - 1 - 0 (zero) Force next mission event Left-shift + s Freeze target Left-shift + ; Invulnerability Left-shift -f- i Jump to lagrange point Left-shift -f- j Jump to target Left-shift + 8 Match target's velocity Left-shift + 9 Superspeed Left-shift + a View previous movie Left-shift - 1 - backspace Win the mission Left-shift -I- w A re you finding that the more realistic physics of INDEPENDENCE WAR are cramp- ing your spacefar- ing style? During flight, enter cheat mode by typing darkgoat. then type in one of the codes below. As always, you should make sure to back up your save-game files before you try using any cheats. — Terry Coleman T he two patches to SSI's PANZER COMMANDER have given us more accurate vehicle modeling, better pathfinding, more aggres- sive Al combat and even two new vehicles. The most signifcant change, how- ^ Q O O ever, is in how the game j r. . . system deals With gunneiy. — You can now toggle the Al gunner and the illuminated reticule, which lets you use the Mark I eyeball to spot a target instead of relying on a glowing beacon. What used to be an intimidating 102-percent difficulty shot thus becomes a manageable 76 percent Gameplay is improved, because you have to scan the field more carefully and pop out of the cupola more often than in Panzer Commander l .0. The restricted width of the magnified gunner's position (the F7 key) and the time used to adjust for range makes the previously little-used F5 position, with its broader field of vision, invaluable. Even when firing the coaxial machine gun, you can now find the range much more quickly than before. The greater aggressiveness of the computer opponent means that Al tanks open up at longer range, and this, combined with enemy vehicles that sport improved armor, means that your fire discipline becomes more important. Banging away at a target when you first spot it will merely exhaust your limited ammunition. Learn to use cover to close to an effective range, and maneuver for a shot at a vulnerable enemy point. In short, the 1.2 patch adds a lot to an already good game, and I heartily recommend it. — Jim Cobb CDAccess.com 1-408-366-9066 F You Want Games? http://www.cdaccess.com GO TO #160 @ www.coiTiputergaming.com/infolink 9 Any Questions? Call (800) 827-4450 M Grab the rock-bottom rate other gamers would virtually DIE for! web 4 ^ www.dice.com Try the largest online job service for high lech professionals! Point your browser to WWW.dice.com for free access to thousands of IT jobs. DICE has contract and lull-time job listings for Programmers, Software Engineers and much more! Use DICE - it works! S^ioe High tech jobs online fteo/ jobs. Real Fast. DICE: 51 S-280-1 144 GO TO »169 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink From the world's leading maker of radio control model airplanes O Incredibly accurate flight — planes respond just like real R/C models. O Awesome 3D backgrounds — with photo-realistic flying sites. O Stereo soundtrack — includes engine noise, crash effects & music. Visit: www.rc-pllot.com for more informadan and a listing of dealers. GO TO #199 @ www.computergaming.com/infolink Controllers? Not enough ^ Gome The Lightning 4 features VStick: The Ultimate Virtual Joystick which means you never need to plug or unplug your game controller devices. They're all active with up to 32 individual buttons available. With VStick you can assign any button a Keystroke Macro - with key sequences up to 32 characters per button, with no keyboard cabling required. Check out the L4 at these great sites: Z-Tech Computers www.z-techcomputers.com RC Simulations www.rcsimulations.com Simware Solutions www.simw.com Apex GPL HQ gpl.gamestats.com Utah UK Belgium California Flight Sim Central Combatsim.com D.B.'s GPL Site www.fscentral.com Nevada www.combatsim.com Canada webhome.idirect.corTV-'drbryan/gpl Canada Poeilic Dijilol Pciphcol/. Inc. 1055 ls»naminB.t • 13.3" XGAActive Matrix Display • 32MB SDRAM • 3.2GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • Modular 24X Max'' Variable CD-ROM • Modular 3.5" Floppy Drive • NeoMagic MediaMagic 256AV AGP Video • 3D Surround Sound and Software Wavetable • Intelligent Lithium Ion Battery • MS’ Home Essentials 98 with Money 98 • MS Windows’ 90 • Touchpad • 3-Year Limited Warranty' • Internal 56K Capable’’' Data/Fax Modem, add $99. • Upgrade to 64MB SDRAM, add $99. • Upgrade to a 4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive, add $99. Personal Lease®: S75/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #801107 NEW DELL^ INSPIROrr” 3500 D233XT $1999 Okay, so were not doctors. But were engineers. And if your high-performance notebook weighs you down, then you should pick up our latest portable, the lightweight Dell Inspiron^’’’ 3500. Weighing just 6. 1 ^pounds and measuring just 1.5 inches thick, you’ll find the 13.3- inch display and Pentium' II processor downright liberating. And at $1999, its price promises a lot of relief, too. So call, or visit us at our TO ORDER BY PHONE [ Keyeode y88463~| 800 - 545-3818 online home store. For faster service, please have your order code and keyeode available when calling. ^Personal leasing arranged by Dell Financial Services L.P., an independent entity, to qualified customers. Amount of monthly lease payments above based on 36-month lease. All above monthly lease payments exclude taxes which may vary; (for example, Hartford City, IN sales tax S3.77/month), Shipping cost due with first payment. No security deposit required: subject to credit approval and availability. Lease terms subject to change without notice. Pentium®]! M-F 7a-11p ‘Sa-Su 8a-8p CT In Canadarcall 800-839-0148 In Mexicorcall 001-800-210-7607 BUILD YOUR OWN AND ORDER ONLINE BE www.dell.com/direct DELL DIMENSION DESKTOPS Common features: ♦ Mini-Tower Model ♦ 512KB Integrated L2 Cache (128KB on liUeP Celeron"' Processor-based Systems)* NEW3Con\' USR V.BO'' Modem ♦30-Day ♦ Microsoft- Windows' 98 ♦ 3-Year Limited Warranty' ♦ 1 -Year At-home-^ Service Upgrades: * 3- Year Next-Business-Day At-home" Service, add S99 ♦ HP' OfficeJet All-in DELL DIMENSION XPS R450 PENTIUM® II PROCESSOR AT 450MHz DELL DIMENSION XPS R45Q PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 450MHz DELL DIMENSION XPS R450 PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 450MHz DELL DIMENSION XPS R450 PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 4S0MHz 128MB 100MHz SDRAM ■ 128MB 100MHz SDRAM • 128MB 100MHz SDRAM • NEW 17.2GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • 21" (19.8" viewable, .26clp) Trinitron' 1 BOOHS Monitor • 16MB STB nVidia 3D AGP Graphics Card • 4.8X DVD-ROM Drive and Decoder Card • NEW Turtle Beach Montego II A3D 320V Sound Card • ACS-495 Full Dolby Surround Sound Speakers with Subwoofer • Iomega Zip 100MB Internal Drive • MS Home Essentials 98 • Dell Comfort Key Keyboard • MS IntelliMouse' $3299 Personal Lease'^; S123/Mo-, 36 Mos.“ Order Code #501107 • A/ftV 17,2GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • NEW 1 9" (1 8.0" viewable, .26dp) Trinitron P990 Monitor • 1 6MB STB nVidia 3D AGP Graphics Card • 4.8X DVD-ROM Drive and Decoder Card • NEW Turtle Beach Montego II A3D 320V Sound Card • ACS-495 Full Dolby Surround Sound Speakers with Subwoofer • Iomega Zip IQOMB Internal Drive • MS Home Essentials 98 • Dell QuietKey- Keyboard • MS IntelliMouse $2899 Personal LeasB°; $108/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #501106 • A/W 17.2GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • /VfW 19" (18.0" viewable, .26dpl Trinitron P990 Monitor • 8MB STB nVidia 3D AGP Graphics Card • 4.8X DVD-ROM Drive and Decoder Card • Turtle Beach Montego A3D 64V Sound Card • ACS-295 Speakers with Subwoofer • MS Home Essentials 98 • Dell QuietKey Keyboard • MS IntelliMouse • Upgrade to a 16MB STB nVidia 3D A GP Graphics Card, add $29. $2699 Personal Lease": SIOI/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #501105 • 128MB 100MHz SDRAM • NEW 1 2.9GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • 17" (16,0" viewable, .26dp) Trinitron 1000HS Monitor • 8MB STB nVidia 3D AGP Graphics Card • 4.8X DVD-ROM Drive and Decoder Card • Turtle Beach Montego A3D 64V Sound Card • ACS-295 Speakers with Subwoofer • Iomega Zip 100MB Internal Drive • MS Office 97 Small Business Edition v2.0 plus Encarta Encyclopedia 98 • Dell QuietKey Keyboard • MS IntelliMouse $2499 Personal Lease": $94/Mo., 36 Mos. F OrderCode#501113 C NEED A LAST-MINiJtE GIFT? DELLINSPIRON" NOTEBOOKS Common features for Inspiron 7000: 3D Surround Sound and Hardware Wavetable « Intelligent Lithium Ion Battery ♦ MS Windows 98 <> Touchpad * 3-Year Limited Warranty' Common features for Inspiron 3500: > 3D Surround Sound and Software Wavetable* NeoMagic MediaMagic 256AV AGP Video » Intelligent Lithium Ion Battery ♦ MS Windows 98 « Touchpad » 3-Year Limited Warranty' Upgrade: ■ Targus Defcon Notebook Alarm, add S49 DELL INSPIRON 7000 D300LT PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 300MHz • 15" XGA Active Matrix Display • 128MB SDRAM • NEW 8GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • Removable Combo 2X DVD-ROM Drive and 3,5" Floppy Drive • 2X AGP 8MB ATI Rage Pro 3D Video • Deluxe Nylon Case • Internal 56K Capable" Data/Fax Modem • MS Office 97 Small Business Edition v2.0 • Second Intelligent Lithium Ion Battery, add $129. • Inspiron 7000 Port Replicator, add $149. $3899 Personal Lease": S145/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #001 101 DELL INSPIRON 7000 D300LT PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT300MHz • 15" XGA Active Matrix Display • 64MB SDRAM • 4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • Removable Combo 24X Max'" Variable CD-ROM and 3.5" Floppy Drive • 2X AGP 8MB ATI Rage Pro 3D Video • Internal 56K Capable" Dala/Fax Modem • MS Home Essentials 98 • Upgrade to a 6.4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive, add $199. • Upgrade to a Removable Combo 2X D VD-ROM and 3. 5 " Floppy Drive, addS199. $2999 Personal Lease": S112/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #801103 DELL INSPIRON 7000 D266GT PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 266MHz • 14.1" XGA Active Matrix Display • 64MB SDRAM • 4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • Removable Combo 24X Max"' Variable CD-ROM and 3,5" Floppy Drive • 2X AGP 4MB ATI Rage Pro 3D Video • Internal 56K Capable" Data/Fax Modem • MS Home Essentials 98 • Upgrade to 2X A GP SMB A T! Rage Pro 3D Video, add $39. • Upgrade to 128MB SDRAM, add $199. • Upgrade to a Removable Combo 2X DVD- ROM and 3.5' Floppy Drive. add $199. $2699 Personal Lease°: SIOI/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #801104 NEWmi INSPIRON 3500 DZ33XT PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT233MHz • 13.3" XGA Active Matrix Display • 32MB SDRAM ♦ 3,2GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • Modular 24X Max" Variable CD-RDM • Modular 3.5" Floppy Drive • MS Home Essentials 98 * Internal 56K Capable’^ Dala/Fax Modem, add $99. * Upgrade to 64MB SDRAM, add $99. * Upgrade to a 4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive, add $99. * Deluxe Nylon Carrying Case, add $49. $1999 Personal Lease°: S75/Mo., 36 Mos. OrderCode #801107 “Z4X Man/lOX W'n ’Dov/tili>a(Js& penti.um"J[ *rri:e5 and specifeaf.ws valid in U S Bply ard sub.eci locbange Mthout nal ce 'Fcra corpnlete ccpycr Guarantaes o.' Limited Yairanires svTiie Dell USA L P. Ann Warranties, One Dell Way, RojM Rock. IX 7£6aZ '6 I pourtds with focpy drive m options bay “Reouires Windows S0 oAl-tiome ser\-.ce provided v:a service contract between ciistomer and irvtd party p/ovijer. end is not avdilab'e m cena n remi-ie areas Tectmician dispalchedjt necessary (Kiisuani to phenebased trcubiuhoonng with lechn cal support personnel ’'PCMagaws. 5^ “40X Max/IZX A' n -I I—,. .,. . ..j 53 K[,ps Upijj;] speeds ate less (..n me 3CKcps tanoel ary) vary try nwdem manufactitrer Speeds also lible server equptr.ent requited '106% speed increase versus STB nVidia SMB card me charges may apply lUmit one per household No: va’id with other Hewlett , j ^ ,j qualifying HR DeskJet. ScanJet and All-m-One products. Customer must mar! completed rebate coupon end copy of receiptlsl dated 10/20/9B to 1/30/99 for all products. Customer will need serial number bar codes from each purchased product. Submissions must be postmarked no later than 1/30/99 and received no later than Z/15/39. Customer will receive a $50 rebate check payable in U.S. dollars, from Hewlett Packard appcoiimaiely 9-10 weeks after receipt of rebate maierials See rebate coupon for details Intel the Intel Inside logo and Pentium are registered trademarks and Celeron is a trademark of Intel Coipotalion. MS, Microsoft, IntelliMouse and Windows are i^islemd iradarnarks of M'crosott Corporation. 3Com is a registeied trademark of 3Com Corporation HP and DeskJet are registered trademarks of Jisteredtrademarkof Sony Corpoiatron.® 1998 Dell Computet Cotporaiion All rights reserved vary deperdina on line conditions. Analog phone line and compabbre servai'eq'upment'tMuired ^ accdiding to 3D Wlnbench 59 at 1024»769 cn Dimension XPS fl450 HSome charges may apply tl Packard offers unless otherwise specified by that offer. Offer is limited to qualifying HP DeskJet. ! Hewletl Packard Corporation. Trinitron is ; Personal leasing arranged by Dell Financial Services LP.. an independent entity, to qualified customers. Amount of monthly lease payments above based on 36-month lease. All above monthly lease payments exclude taxes which may vary; (for example, Hartford City, IN sales tax °S6. 15/month), Shipping cost due with first payment. No security deposit required; subject to credit approval and availabilitY, Lease terms subject to change without notice. ■f ConnectDirecf’’ Internet Service'' 600, add S499 ($449 after Mail-in 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive ♦ 2 Universal Serial Bus (USB) Ports ♦ McAfee VirusScan Rebate*] ♦ MS'^ Sidewinder Pro Joystick, add $69 L DIMENSION XPS R450 TIUM II PROCESSOR AT 450MHz DELL DIMENSION XPS R400 PENTIUM II PROCESSOR AT 400MHz DELL DIMENSION V333C INTEL CELERON PROCESSOR AT 333MHz 8MB 100MHz SDRAM • 96MB 100MHz SDRAM • 64M8 SDRAM W 12.9GB UltraATA Hard Drive • NEW 12.9GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive • 8.4GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive ■ (15.9" viewable) lOOOLS Monitor • 17" (15.9“ viewable) 1000LS Monitor • 17" (15.9" viewable) lOOOLS Monitor 48 ATI XPERT 98D 3D AGP • 8MB ATI XPERT 96D 30 AGP • ATI 8MB 3D AGP Graphics aphics Card Graphics Card • 40X Max'" Variable CD-ROM Drive ^W4.8X DVD-ROM Drive • NEWm DVD-ROM Drive • Yamaha XG 64V Wavetable Sound 1 ystal 3D 64V Wavetable Sound • Crystal 3D 64V Wavetable Sound • harman/kardonHK-195 Speakers 1 S-295 Speakers with Subwoofer • harman/kardonHK-195 Speakers • Iomega Zip 100MB Internal Drive nega Zip 100MB Internal Drive • MS Office 97 Small Business Edition • MS Office 97 Small Business Edition S Home Essentials 98 v2.0 plus Bookshelf 98 v2,0 plus Encarta Encyclopedia 98 II Comfort Key Keyboard • Dell QuietKey Keyboard • Dell Comfort Key Keyboard S InieliiMouse • MS InteliiMouse • NEW Logitech First Mouse+ (PS/2v) ograde to a NEW 17.2GB Ultra ATA * Upgrade to the Dell Comfort Key * Upgrade to a rl.SX DVD-ROM Drive, ard Drive, add $159. Keyboard, add $19. add $59. 2199 $1899 $1599 ;onal Lease°: S83/Mo., 36 Mos. Personal Lease": $72/Mo., 36 Mos. Personal Lease": $61/Mo., 36 Mos. r Code #501103 Order Code #501102 Order Code #501101 SOFTWARE SELECTIONS Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition v2.a; Word 97, Excel 97, Publisher 98, Outlook 98, Small Business Financial Mgr. 98 and Expedia Streets 98. Microsoft Home Essentials 98: Word 97. Encarta Encyclopedia 98, Money 98, Works 4.5, Greetings Workshop 2,0 and Puzzle Collection. DIMENSION SOFTWARE BUNDLES NEW Fast Track Game Pack, add S79: Tomb Raider 2, Jack Nicklaus Golf 5,0, Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, Hardball 6.0 and Total Annihilation. NEW Learning Library Ages 4-6. add $79: Freddi the Fish: The Case of the Stolen Conch, Fisher Price: Learning in Toyland, Jumpstart (Pre-School), Jumpstart (Pre-K) and Jumpstart (Kindergarten). GO TO OUR WEBSITE THE GIFT BOX 550 MAIL-IN REBATE WHEN YOU BUY CERTAIN DELL DIMENSION DESKTOPS INCLUDING MONITOR AND SELECTED HP PRODUCTS. OFFER ENDS 1/30/99. PRINTER HP DESKJET' 72ZC • PC Magazine's" Editors' Choice • Up to 8 pages per min. in black text • Up to 4 pages per min. in color text • Add a printer cable for $25. $299 $249 ARER REBATE' SCANNER NEWHP SCANJET 4100Cse • Uses HP intelligent scanning technology • USB"* * connectivity for easy installation • 600 dpi Hardware Super Sampling, 1200 dpi enhanced, 36-bit color $199 SI49 AFTER REBATE' POWER STRIP APC SURGESTATION PR08T2 • 8 outlets with block spacing for 3 outlets ’ • Includes 4-wire, 2-telephone line for protection ^ • Helps protect your system against electrical surges $39 24 HOURS A DAY ACCESS SPECIAL PROMOTIONS DESIGN YOUR IDEAL COMPUTER CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR ORDER ACCESS 24HR. ONLINE TECH SUPPORT Its loiif’h to find a perfect holiday ‘’ift. But it’s quite easy to make one. All it takes is a visit to out online home store. Without leaving your chair or picking up the phone, you can custom configure and purchase the PC of some lucky person’s dreams. Whether it’s a desktop or a notebook, Dell offers the features, specs and peripherals most peurple look for. Unlike some gifts, this one will arrive with batteries included. And you can check the status of your order any time. Oh, and Dell’s 24'hour phone- and web-based technical support is like a nice, shiny ribbon around the whole package. So do your holiday shopping at www.dcll.com/direct. Because the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. Unless, of course, you’re thinking about fruitcake. TO ORDER BY PHONE 800 - 545-3818 M-F 7a-11p "Sa-Su 8a-8p CT In CanadaTcall 800-839-0148 In Mexicorcall 001-800-210-7607 BUILD YOUR OWN AND ORDER ONLINE D44.L BE DIRECT” www.dell.com/direct For faster service, please have your order code and keycodc available wlieii calling. DON'T WORRY. EVEN WITH MORE REALISTIC 3D VIDEO PERFORMANCE, IT'S NOT DANGEROUS. INTRODUCING DELL'S /Vfl/I^ 16MB GRAPHICS CARD. Hopefully you have a strong heart, because the new 16MB VRAM graphics card will take you to a dimension you never even dreamed about. At 1024 X 768, high resolution 3D graphics can he displayed with more detail and up CO 108% faster' than on our previous SMB high-end graphics card. 3D graphics games will be transformed into a hyper-realistic experience. There’s • WWieMB STB nVidia TNT 3D AGP Graphics Card • 40X Max"^ Variable CD-ROM Drive • Turtle Beach Montego A3D 64V Sound Card • harman/kardon HK-195 Speakers • 3Com" USR VgO" PCI WinModem • 30-Dav fflff ConnectDirecf Internet Service" • MS' Home Essentials 98 with Money 98: McAfee VirusScan • MS Windows' 98/lntelliMouse' • Dell QuietKev' Keyboard • 3-Year Limited Warranty' • 1 -Year At-home-' Service • Upgrade to Altec Lar^sing ACS-295 Speakers with Subwoofer, add $50. $2299 Personal Lease "; S87/Mo., 36 Mos. Order Code #501115 no excuse to stare into dullsville again, especially for such a great price. Call or visit us at our online home store. We recommend laying of! the caffeine for a while. For faster service, please have your order code and keycode availabie when calling. Personal leasing arranged by Dell Financial Services L.P., an independent entity, to qualified customers; amount of monthly lease payments above based on 36-month lease. All above monthly lease payments exclude taxes which may vary (for example. Hartford City, IN sales tax S4.32/month); shipping cost due with first payment: no security deposit required; subject to credit approval and availability. Lease terms subject to change without notice. penVum*l[ TO ORDER BY PHONE 800 - 545-3818 M-F7a-llp ‘Sa-Su 8a-8p CT In Canadarcall 800-839-0148 In Mexicorcall 001-800-210-7607 BUILD YOUR OWN AND ORDER ONLINE BE DIRECT-^^^^^ www.dell.com/direct