The Video Game Magazine Round-Up | January 1992

 

VG&CE Cover | Issue 36, January 1992

Hello readers,

welcome to the January 1992 edition of "The Video Game Magazine Round-Up". 

As explained in this post, the idea behind this is to supplement our journey through video game history by looking at retro game magazines and looking at news topics of the time, interesting reviews of video games, columns, controversies, new tech releases and anything else of interest that any given magazine may write an article about. You can check out the first iteration here to see what you can expect, or just continue reading this article.

Since the challenge has progressed way faster than I expected as I started this, I decided to, for now, skip a few month's worth of round-ups to both save myself the time and more importantly, to have these be more current with the challenge, as not only does this give you the most accurate representation of the time-period we're in, but also, games reviewed in these magazines may find themselves into my spreadsheet this way.

In this months' round-up: 

• Which reviewed game did we add to our TGBP playlist?
• Which company is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection?
• The developer for which company gave VG&CE yet another earful?

The magazines that will take part in this month's "VGM Round-Up" are

1. Computer Gaming World | Issue 90
2. Electronic Gaming Monthly | Issue 30
3. Game Informer | Issue 03
4. Video Games & Computer Entertainment (VG&CE) | Issue 36

You can read each magazine in full using the links provided. We will start this month's round up by taking a look at the VG&CE first.

VIDEO GAMES & COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT | ISSUE 36

• Andy Eddy wishes everyone a happy new year in the EDITORIAL and sets the expectation of an "explosion of CD-based systems and peripherals to the market". Nintendo is "expected to release the fruits of its partnership with Philips, a CD-ROM unit for the SNES" and Sony continues working on its 'PlayStation'. For Andy Eddy, the only question is what price gamers will be willing to pay for the consoles and how low companies are willing to go.
• In the READER MAIL, just like with August 1991's issue, a complaint is included regarding a prior review of their game done by VG&CE. Last time, it was Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver, this time it's Robert L. Jerauld of Enix America, who takes offense to VG&CE's review of Dragon Warrior III (Moby Score: 7.2 / VGCE Score: 16/40). The reviewer saw the story as tacked on and one that added too little for the 50 hours to game can take to beat. The developer disagrees with this, but the most important point of criticism by the reviewer that is addressed is the following. The reviewer states that the game gives you the option to choose a male or female character, but in the opening sequence, the king, your father, calls you his 'son' either way (this is correct). The developer contests that this part of the review is wrong, as the character you play is male. But why is there then an option given at the start of the game? This is one again very long-winded and a nearly-no-filter back & forth of opinions on the game, and very much worth the read (p. 5f.). 
• This issue's NEWS BITS starts with news on Mediagenic (Activision) planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with the plan being that this will help them to satisfy creditors and regain financial health. In other news, "Galoob won the first step of its suit to collect the $15 million bonds posted by Nintendo". This is for damages Galoob suffered due to Nintendo suing them over Game Genie, though the trial is ongoing. Also, SimCity has sold over a million copies after originally launching in 1989. There are many other news bits.
• VIDEO GAME REVIEWS for this month include Jaleco's 'Cyberball' (NES, 23/40) and 'Rampart' (NES, 25/40), NEC's 'It Came From the Desert' (TurboGrafx-16, 36/40) and 'Darkwing Duck' (TurboGrafx-16, 18/40), Renovation's 'Wanderers from Ys (Ys III)' (Genesis, 27/40) and 'Master of Monsters' (Genesis, 32/40), Microprose's 'F-15 Strike Eagle' (NES, 30/40), Capcom's 'Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts' (SNES, 35/40), Activision's 'Ultimate Air Combat' (NES, 25/40), Konami's 'Super Castlevania IV' (SNES, 34/40) and 'Tiny Toon Adventures' (NES, 28/40), Hudson Soft's 'Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball' (SNES, 22/40), Absolute Entertainment's 'Space Shuttle Project' (NES, 24/40), EA's 'The Immortal' (Genesis, 31/40), Mindscape's 'Paperboy 2' (SNES, 30/40), T&E Soft's 'True Golf Classics: Walalae Country Club' (SNES, 28/40) & Namco's 'Rolling Thunder 2' (Genesis, 32/40).
• It Came from the Desert: This is a remake of the 1989 action-adventure game with many changs and improvements. It uses rotoscoping to deliver realistic video scenes and mixes this in between 2D action sequences from a side or top-down perspective. The TurboGrafx-16 version does not have a Moby Score, but the Amiga version has a Moby Score of 8.1 (#1,389 of 157K).
• Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts: I reviewed this game here. It is the successor of the infamous Ghouls 'n Ghosts for the NES and improves on everything thanks to the superior power of the SNES. It has a Moby Score of 8.0 (#1,986).
• Super Castlevania IV: My review can be found here. This is a remake of the first Castlevania and is notable for allowing Simon Belmont to whip in 8 total directions, which makes for a different gameplay dynamic than earlier entries. It has a Moby Score of 8.4 (#445).
• VGCE highlight EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SNES, from Processor (65sc816 CPU rated at 3.58 MHz) to Memory (128k of DRAM, 64k of VRAM) to Graphics Processor (32,768 color palette, two resolutions of 256 x 224 and 512 x 448, Mode 7 graphic mode) to Joypads to Sound (16-bit Sony sound chip). All of these pieces of hardware and how they work in general are very well explained in laymen's terms, for the most part.
• The history of ICE HOCKEY GAMES is shown in an article spanning multiple decades.
• Arnie Katz goes over MYSTERY-THEMED GAMES of the past and future. Future games include Konami's 'The Champions', Konami's 'Return of Batman', Sierra On-Line's 'Codename: Iceman II' and more.
• In another article, Arnie Katz plays COMMISSIONER OF GAMING, and creates a wish-list of suggestions for the industry. 1) Establish a National Electronic Gaming Show, 2) Hardware standardization for the PC, 3) Regularize creators of games being credited, 4) Organize a set of 'Peoples Choice' awards for games, 5) Hire a celebrity spokesperson for the industry and a few more, some of which aged well, some of which didn't.
• COMPUTER GAME PREVIEW/REVIEWS for this month include EA' 'Are We There Yet?' and 'The Immortal', Accolade's 'Elvira II: Jaws of Cerberus' and 'The Games: Winter Edition', Maxis' 'SimAnt', Origin's 'Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi' (35/40), Mindcraft's 'Rules of Engagement' (32/40), Strategic Simulations' 'Tony La Russa's Ultimate Baseball' (32/40) and 'AD&D: Gateway to the Savage Frontier' (28/40), Lucasfilm Games' 'Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe' (34/40), U.S. Gold's 'Knights of the Crystallion' (29/40), Bethesda Softworks' 'The Terminator' (31/40), Legend Entertainment's 'TimeQuest' (35/40) and Paragon's 'MegaTraveller 2: Quest for the Ancients' (36/40).

GAME INFORMER | ISSUE 03

• REVIEWS: This issue reviews Accolade's 'Asteroids' (7.5), 'Missile Command' (7.75) & 'Turrican' (7.0), Absolute Ent.'s 'Project Space Shuttle' (7.5), Bullet Proof's 'Faceball 2000' (9.0), Ballistic's 'Winter Challenge' (7.0), EA's 'John Madden '92' (8.5), Interplay's 'RPM Racing' (6.0), Jaleco's 'Shatterhand' (8.0), Sunsoft's 'Lemmings' (9.0), Sega's 'Art Alive' (8.0), 'Galaxy Force II' (6.5), 'Jewel Master' (7.25), 'Joe Montana 2' (8.25) and 'Wonder Boy in Monster World' (7.0).
• Faceball 2000: Tied for highest rated game in this issue. A Game Boy FPS game that "you won't be able to put ... down" according to GameInformer. It has a Moby Score of 6.5 (#16,471). 
• Shatterhand: An NES Action game with eight-direction scrolling. You fight cyborgs and all kinds of biomechanical enemies with your punches. It has a Moby Score of 7.9 (#2,308).
• Wonder Boy in Monster World: An action-adventure for the Sega Genesis. I've reviewd it here. It has a Moby Score of 7.5 (#5,900).
• Game Informer looks at what's ahead courtesy of WINTER CES 1992. They look at upcoming games for multiple publishers, like Capcom USA's 'Mega Man II' for the Game Boy, Data East's 'Joe N' Mac', Bandai America's 'Ultimate Journey' and Acclaim's 'Alien 3'. 
• EDUTAINMENT GAMES get a feature in an article that covers Gametek's 'Fisher Price' series and Hi-Tech's 'Sesame Street' series, among others.
• With TECH TALK, GI looks at future hardware and tech in gaming, such as the Game Genie for use with the Sega Genesis. News on hardware is lacking otherwise, but the biggest update in terms of software is iMuse (Interactive Music & Sound Effects) a sound system that allows "music and sound effects to respond to the player's choices". It was created by the Skywalker Sound division of LucasFilm and will be used for 'Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge'.

COMPUTER GAMING WORLD | ISSUE 90

• REVIEWS: This issue reviews Virgin Games' 'Vengeance of Excalibur', EA's '4D Boxing', Data East's 'ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing', Access Software's 'Martian Memorandum' and a couple others.
• Vengeance of Excalibur: This is a follow-up to 'Spirit of Excalibur' and is a Strategy / RPG. It has a Moby Score of 6.4 (#16,969 ).
• 4D Boxing: This is a boxing simulator focusing on graphics and graphical presentation with different angles to view the action from. It has a Moby Score of 7.4 (#7,885).
• ABC's Wide World of Sports Boxing: Another boxing game, this one with a small story where you create your own boxer and train and fight. It has a Moby Score of 6.6 (#15,969).
• Martian Memorandum: This is a graphical adventure game with a murder mystery theme. It has a Moby Score of 7.3 (#8,301).
• VIRTUAL REALITY is discussed in an article on the 2nd Annual VR Conference in San Francisco in Sept, 1991. VR has gone from "speculative talk" to prototype stage within a year, and while coin-op vendors would not agree to carry VR helmets (danger of head lice), some in the industry remain optimistic about the technology finding its way to gamer's homes soon.
• SNEAK PREVIEW: The first game that receives a sneak preview in this issue of CGW is Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. The general feeling of the previewer is that those who enjoyed Monkey Island 1 will feel the same way with the sequel. The second game is Interplay's 'Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space'. Third game is Strategic Studies Group's 'Carriers'.

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY | ISSUE 30

• The REVIEW CREW covers many games in this month's issue: Sunsoft's 'Lemmings' (29/40), Tradewest's 'Super Off Road' (26/40), Acclaim's 'Bart vs. the World' (16/40), Ultra Games' 'Nightshade' (24/40), Lucasfilm's 'Defenders of Dynatron City' (14/40), LJN's 'Roger Clemens MVP Baseball' (23/40), EA's 'John Madden '92' (36/40), 'F-22 Interceptor' (27/40) and 'Robocod' (30/40), Mentrix's 'Cal. 50' (23/40), Ultra's 'T.M.N.T. 2' (20/40), Bullet Proof Software's 'Faceball 2000' (27/40) & Atari's 'Crystal Mines 2' (26/40).
• Here comes this issue's GAMING GOSSIP courtesy of 'Quartermann'. 
• This issue starts with news on NEC debuting the first CD-ROM/game system all-in-one. At least in the West, as Japan already has it since September 1991.
• The Atari Jaguar is taking shape and will use 32-Bit processors.
• New games looking to release soon include a SNES Star Wars game with intermissions from the movie, as well as other movie tie-in's like Alien 3, Robocop 3 and Addams' Family. The biggest game will be Street Fighter 2, which will finally release for home consoles later this year.
• The rest of this 259-page (!) issue is surprisingly lacking any interesting articles on the video game industry. All remaining pages give very quick & short previews on upcoming games and short guides on games that recently game out.