News

Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker” movie had only just come out and US Gold had already snaffled the game license.

Titus announced their futuristic deadly sport game "Titan”.

The Vocalizer 1000 was a music gadget where the user would hum/whistle/sing a tune at it and it would detect the varying pitches and allow playback of the tune using a selection of 28 instruments.

Gary Liddon was teaming up with renowned game artist Paul Docherty to develop "Tyger Tyger" for Mastertronic’s Ricochet label. It was never released.

A rather disturbing underground scene had emerged in West Germany with neo-Nazis developing anti-Semitic games like “Hitler Dictator” and distributing them anonymously on bulletin boards. The software was managing to make its way to school playgrounds.

Elsewhere in Germany… C&VG had been relegated to the magazine top shelves in select retailers out of the reach of kids as the government had decided it promoted games that had been banned (i.e. war sims).

Electronic Arts were bringing their Amiga racing sim "Ferrari Formula One"to the ST and 8bits. They were also working on "Abrams Battle Tank”, though I can’t find further mentions of it.

Bullfrog’s groundbreaking”Populous" was revealed.

Canon launched their Zap Shot camera which could store up to 50 photos on a special video floppy disk. The pics could then be viewed on a TV, or captured using appropriate video hardware.

"Vindicators"was next in Domark’s series of Tengen coin-op licenses.

Cinemaware’s "Defend of the Crown" was getting a new PC CD-ROM release which would feature a new soundtrack, “film quality sound effects” and dialogue. The gameplay would remain the same, though.

In what was surely one of the most obnoxious 80s things ever, “Safe and Sound Stereo Jackets” from Sports Electronics Inc would let the wearer (or their.. friends.. I guess) connect a walkman to their jacket for all to listen… ugh.

For owners of the BBC Domesday System (BBC Micro + video disc player), Virgin’s “North Polar Expedition” would give them a taste of the Artic. It retailed at £199.

Huh. Sony were launching a series of designer blank VHS tapes in the US.

Features

The movies reviewed this month were: “Die Hard”, “Maniac Cop”, The Dead Can’t Lie”, “Short Circuit 2”, “Ghost Chase” and “Elvira - Mistress of Darkness”.

Clare Edgely and Julian Rignall swung by the Amusement and Trade Exhibition in Olympia to check out the latest and greatest arcade machines.

John Minson got to have a sneak peak at the Konix Multi System console. Conclusion: “The result is, quite simply, the answer to every games player’s dreams.”

It was Winter CES time and Minson spent a whole two weeks in Vegas for it. How on earth he survived that, I dunno - two to three days is enough for me. There was a large contingent of UK devs present, but it was Nintendo who stole the show. The first HDTVs (in the West) were on display too.

Notable Reviews

• "Blasteroids" Image Works - Spectrum 87% ST 90% C&VG Hit ”Still, the gameplay is adrenalin pumping, and Blasteroids is easily the best ST shoot ‘em up to date.”
• "WEC Le Mans" Ocean - Spectrum 83% Amstrad 82% “The Spectrum version is of similar high quality and the game doesn’t seem to lack anything in spite of the machine’s graphical and audio shortcomings. Strange, isn’t it, how well driving games translate to the old Speccy?“
• “Battlehawks” Lucasfilm/US Gold - PC 85% “I didn’t find it quite as compelling as Strike Fleet, but it kept me engrossed for many an hour.”
• "Pro Soccer" CRL - Spectrum 84% “The best way I can describe Pro Soccer is that it’s Football Manager 2 with more player interaction, more fun, better graphics, playability, design and generally better game play.“
• “Purple Saturn Day” Infogrames - ST 84% “Purple Saturn Day is an excellent package, accomplished with all the graphical style and audio effectiveness of Exxos’ other game, Captain Blood.”
• “Andes Attack” Llamasoft - ST 88% “Andes Attack is a raw and uncompromising shoot ‘em up that’ll have you on the edge of your seat - and essential purchase for the maniacal blasting fan.”
• “Zany Golf” Electronic Arts - ST 81% “Play is such an enjoyable combination of luck and skill (with a fair bit of frustration thrown in for good measure) that you’ll be coming back to it for ages.”
• "Manhunter" Sierra Online/Activision - ST/Amiga 88% “Having persevered with it, I am currently impressed and intrigued by its puzzles, and even becoming a bit nonchalant as I breeze through the occasional arcade section.“
• "War in Middle Earth" Melbourne House - Spectrum 88% “The game has all the hallmarks of a game which has been crafted slowly and painstakingly. I can thoroughly recommend this game to Tolkien fans and anyone who enjoys a strategic challenge. Great stuff.“

Charts

All Formats

1. "Operation Wolf" Ocean
2. "Robocop" Ocean
3. "Afterburner" Activision