News

This month saw ex-Zzap!64 editor Julian Rignall and ex-Crash editor Steve Jarret join the C&VG writing staff.

With the Seoul olympic games about to start, Ocean were to release "Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge". Official olympic sponsor Adidas were also sponsoring the game.

The first screenshot of Realtime Games' impressive 16bit "Carrier Command" Spectrum port appeared. The game was also to appear on the Amstrad and C64.

French software house Lankhor were working on a car racing game called "Vroom" for the Amiga and ST.

Ocean's big game for Christmas was the arcade conversion of "Operation Wolf". Rambo would also get a sequel with "Rambo 3". (For some reason the news item was titled "Sea Wolf")

Gotcha! was a new line of paintball guns/ammo/etc.

US Gold were to release a series of AD&D games in the UK developed by US based SSI. The first title would be "Pool of Radiance".

Ocean's "The Vindicator" was a new "Rolling Thunder" style shoot'em up.

"E.T" was finally getting a worldwide release on video and would cost £49.95.

Ice cream maker Walls had released a new line of ice lollies: Calippo.

New variations on the Cruiser joystick were on the way.

Interceptor's Pandora label revealed a new game for the ST, "Debut". This looked rather interesting - the goal was to stabilise a world devastated by pollution by manipulating the weather, human population and food chain.

"Diamond" from Destiny would come with a cassette single by the band "Company She Keeps".

Firebird was to release "Soldier of Fortune", which was more of a role playing game than shoot'em up.

Andrew Braybrook's new game was a "non-shooting shoot'em up" called "Intensity". It was flip screen rather than scrolling, to be published by Firebird and would appear on the C64 and Spectrum.

Gremlin's "T-Wrecks" would see the player take on the role of a T-Rex wreaking havoc on Japan.

Another Ocean coin op conversion was on the way with "Typhoon".

"Mars Cops" from Arcana was a "space police blaster" (doesn't look like this was released).

Cartoon character clocks including Batman, Superman, Top Cat and The Flintstones were on sale from a shop in Croydon.

"Whirligig" from Firebird was a shoot'em up for the Amiga and ST which utilised solid 3D graphics.

Marvel's X-men were heading to the UK in a new comic series "Excalibur". Marvel UK's "Dragon's Teeth" was also set to get a US release.

Lankhor were also about to release "G'NIUS", a "weird looking cartoon-style arcade game".

This month's software house profile ("Fax Box") was of Elite Systems.

Features

The movies reviewed this month were: "Hairspray", "Salsa - The Motion Picture", "The Monster Squad", "The Couch Trip", "Deadly Pursuit", "September", "Vice Versa", "Skool Daze", "Prince - Sign 'O' the Times" and "Salome's Last Dance".

Tony Takoushi gushed over "The Kristal" which he called "the biggest, most amazing 16-bit project ever".

There was a roundup of the best theme park rides around Britain.

John Minson took a look at recent computer RPGs and pondered whether there will ever be a "true role playing" video game.

Notable Reviews

• "The Empire Strikes Back" Domark - Spectrum 8/10 "The Spectrum version isn't at all disappointing, and looks and plays very similarly to the arcade original. The only thing that lets it down is its occasionally slow screen update, but other than that the game is excellent and well worth looking up."
• "Virus" Firebird - Amiga/ST 9/10 C&VG Hit "Virus is simply incredible. I've never played a game that has felt so real; the hoverplane's inertia, the gravity, the way the sound works and the amazing 3-D effect generated by the graphics all conspire together to make a game of classic dimensions; a landmark in 16-bit entertainment."
• "Skate Crazy" Gremlin - C64 8/10 "An enjoyable, varied game that still looks perfectly good alongside such other fine skating games as Skate or Die."
• "Barbarian II" Palace Software - C64 9/10 C&VG Hit "If you're fed up with blasting aliens and want some REAL action, look no further than Barbarian II."
• "Uninvited" ICOM Simulations/Mirrorsoft - Amiga/ST 10/10 "Overall, though, this is an excellent haunted house thriller with plenty of puzzles and surprises, a user-friendly mode of operation and some very detailed graphics."
• "Bionic Commandos" GO! - C64 9/10 Spectrum 8/10 "I thoroughly enjoyed Bionic Commando; is a tough [sic], yet highly enjoyable arcade conversion and is well worth buying."
• "Tracksuit Manager" Goliath Games - C64 9/10 "As I've already stated, Tracksuit Manager is the best ever managerial game and a very impressive start for Goliath. If you like football get it. If you like strategy, get it. If you want one of the best 8-bit games around at the moment, get it."

Charts

Games

1. "Target Renegade" Imagine (Spectrum)
2. "ACE" Cascade (Spectrum)
3. "Yogi Bear" Alternative (Spectrum)