Received: from decwrl.dec.com by s.ms.uky.edu id aa03857; 25 Oct 90 10:58 GMT Received: by decwrl.dec.com; id AA12318; Thu, 25 Oct 90 03:53:49 -0700 Received: by limbo; Wed, 24 Oct 90 11:36:59 pdt Message-Id: <9010241836.AA11950@limbo.intuitive.com> From: The Moderator Date: Wed, 24 Oct 90 11:36:55 PDT Subject: Digital Games Review Digest, #13 Reply-To: Digital Games Review To: Digital Games Review Digest X-Mailer: fastmail [version 2.02] Digital Games Review Digest, Number 13 Wednesday, October 24th 1990 Today's Topics: NES: Airwolf Crystalis Karate Kid Genesis: Herzog Zwei Thunder Force III Batman AfterBurner II [A reminder for those that are interested in the new GameBoy game Final Fantasy Legend; John Leo reviewed this title in Digital Games a while back under the Japanese name "Makaitoushi SAGA". You can obtain this review by sending the request "send Warrior.SAGA" to the info server (info@intuitive.com). Thanks John!! ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mark and Chris Runyan Subject: NES: Airwolf Imagine you are behind the controls of the most sophisticated attack helicopter available and you have been sent into enemy airspace to locate and recover prisoners being held by that enemy. If you've ever watched the show Airwolf, you might be interested in what using that helicopter on an adventure might be like. While the game isn't quite like being there, it is close enough to provide a little fun. Essentially, you are Stringfellow Hawke, flying Airwolf on a series of rescue missions. The Firm has located a series of bases where the enemy is holding prisoners. Your missions consist of you entering enemy airspace and recovering the prisoners. Your helicopter has a screen with a map on it which marks the location of the prisoners, enemy airfields, and Airwolf refueling dumps. Given this information, you may decide to knock out the airport, recover the prisoner, or use the refueling dump, but you can't leave the area until you pick up the prisoner. You control the direction the craft flies, the firing of the machine guns and guided missiles, and the speed of the helicopter. The enemy aircraft and surface to air missiles may all be shot down; but, then, so can you. Chris (age: 8) enjoys the Airwolf series and so is taken with the game which allows him to fly Airwolf. He found it easy to play, though he was at first confused by the controls of the craft when it comes to steering it. With a little practice though, he was able to maneuver the aircraft rather well, and became very good at his missions. I (age: 30) have seen many of the Airwolf episodes, so I knew what Airwolf is and what the entire concept of the game was. The game is fairly entertaining, and it requires that you think out what you are going to do. You don't have to knock out the enemy airfield, though doing so is suppose to reduce the number of enemy aircraft trying to knock you out of the air. Nor are you required to use the fuel dump, though the fuel dump does rearm and repair you craft if you need it. In other words, you get to decide how to attack a particular mission, and even if the camps are exactly the same each time you start the game over, you may never fly the same mission the same way twice. To round this all up into a final note, the game is entertaining, though it does require a bit of practice to play. This game does have one odd point that I find quite annoying, and that is the arcade-like screen where your best score is shown and your name is put there. The game seems to assume that it will be kept up and running in the NES machine long enough to have several scores kept (the scores are not kept once the NES has been shut down as the cartridge doesn't have a battery in it). Still the game is interesting to play, especially if you know what Airwolf is! Graphics: 6 You can tell what everything is Sound: 5 Music tends to jump about Fun Level: 8 Chris enjoyed it once he could do it Intuitive Feel: 6 Controlling direction is tough Documentation: 8 Covers most of the important things ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall: 7 Chris thought it was fun Airwolf, for the Nintendo Entertainment System By Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. ------------------------------ From: dmr@crossing.osf.org (David Rodal) Subject: NES: Crystalis Date: 12 Oct 90 15:38:36 GMT Crystalis is a Legend of Zelda type game in that you move around a large world killing creatures, collecting money and experience, and buying weapons and items to aid you in your adventure. It is like the legend of zelda in that your perspective is from above and you don't go between battle screens and movement screens like in LINK, you are always the same scale and the whole world is mapped at this scale. It is also similar to RPG games and newer games like LINK in that it is vital to talk to many different people and get clues and items from them to achieve victory. An interesting twist on this game was the fact that it has multiple types of weapons and shields and armor, which do DIFFERENT tasks. You don't just have bad armor, better armor, really good armor and then best armor. Some shield protect you from some attacks and other shields protect you from different attacks. So one must use the most appropriate armor for the situation NOT just the best armor. Let me start of by describing the swords. There are 4 swords and then the final crystalis sword which is all 4 swords combined. Each sword has associated with it a magic ball which gives it more power AND a magic bracelet which gives it MUCH more power. First of all let me describe how to use a sword. One pushes down on the "B" button and then releases it to activate the sword. Note the sword stabs when you release the button not when you push it. This gave me fits at first but I quickly got over it. If you push the button and release it right away, you stab in the direction you are facing, but only hit creatures that are right next to you. If you hold the button down for a short time a little meter will go from left to right and a little "1" will start flashing. You cannot move for this meter to activate, but once the "1" is flashing you can move without any problem. You then move around and line up with your enemy and RELEASE the button. You will then shoot a little magic bolt and be able to hit creatures at a distance. If one also the magic ball associated with the currently wielded weapon, one can hold down the "B" button even longer and a 2 will start flashing. Releasing the button now will yield a larger bolt of magic that will usually do more damage. It will also have a wider berth and inflict damage on monsters that you just barely hit. Using the bracelet associated with the sword yields the largest magic bolt and usually does the most damage. The weapons don't have more strength when you use the magic ball or bracelet but since their track is larger, you tend to get multiple hits on a monster with just one shot. This makes the weapon effectively stronger but you don't actually increase the amount of damage per hit, you just get more hits per shot. Also there are certain walls you have to blow away that require using a specific sword with it's associated magic ball. These are different depending upon which cave you are in comes back to the point the you don't have one weapon, you have 4 and need to switch around depending upon the situation. There are 4 major swords you use until you finally get crystalis. The sword of wind. This shoots a small puff of vacuum and can kill at a distance when used alone. It is the weakest of the 4 swords, but there are some creatures that can ONLY be killed with this sword. Using the magic ball you get a slightly wider puff of vacuum coming out of your sword but it is still a narrow swath of destruction that it leaves. Using the tornado bracelet with this sword yield a large 'V' shaped path of destruction going in the direction you are facing. Using the bracelet with any sword uses up valuable magic points that can only be replenished at a town. Therefore you only use the bracelets on the BIG monsters. The next sword is the sword of fire. It too shoots a small path of fire when used alone but it will kill some monsters that the sword of wind has no effect upon. Using this sword with the magic ball yields a longer and slightly wider path of death. This give you multiple hits if you are lined up well with the monster and is a great deal easier then shooting, charging up and shooting again. The bracelet associated with this sword yields a large ball of fire in front of the hero and is rather effective. The third sword is the sword of water (ice). It is the same as the first two in that its path of destruction gets wider and longer as you use the magic ball but when using the bracelet it give this circle of death the is released from the position of the hero and kills everything around the hero, not just in front of him. This comes in real handy for the human hand-grenade tactic of getting in the middle of as many monsters as you can and firing off this sword. It kills everyone around you and is a great deal of fun, and much easier to use on enemies that move a lot. Also instead of breaking down walls in caves like the previous two swords do it builds ice bridges over rivers and the like which opens up whole new worlds previously unexplored. The last sword is the sword and thunder. It has the widest, strongest, and longest bolt of magic of all the swords. Using the sword of thunder with the ball alone gives as wide a path of destruction as the sword of wind with the tornado bracelet AND uses up NO magic points. Using the sword of thunder with the storm bracelet yields a devastating thunder storm that equally affects all creatures on the screen regardless of position or orientation of the hero. This can be real fun to crispy formally tough creatures with little to no effort (although it can be expensive, magic point wise). As you get the "better" swords you will tend to be able to kill the harder creatures but there are some creatures that are immune to "stronger" swords but die quite nicely with the "weaker" swords. This makes the game more interesting and can be a real challenge to find out which sword works best against which monster, especially when you are fighting one of the big ones that is kicking your you know what. Armor and shield are interesting too. Shield protect you from projectiles and armor protects you from monsters touching you. On top of this, 1/3 of the way into the game you get two magic items of which you can only use one at a time. One doubles the strength of your shield, the other doubles the strength of your armor. When entering an area where monsters come up and hit you, you want your armor to be as strong as possible, other areas where creatures throw things at you, you want your shield to be as strong as possible. Also, there are different types of shields. Some protect you from things like arrows and fireballs. Others protect you from magic rays that can paralyze you or turn you to stone. Using the best shield for the job is rather important. The same applies to armor, some creatures can poison you, which causes you to lose a few hitpoints every few seconds. Failure to eat an antidote plant in time will result in death. Certain types of armor protect you completely from such poison attack, others are just plain stronger for when creatures are beating on you (but give no protection from poison). There are also magic spells that do a variety of different things. Some simple ones are refresh and restore. Refresh is simply a healing spell that gives you back hitpoints. Restore is a spell that will "cure" you of your poison condition and other negative conditions that can effect you. Other spells can give you telepathy which enable you to talk to animals and also speak to wise men for hints. Talking to animals is neat because at one point the bad guys capture a town and leave nothing but a rabbit. Talking to the rabbit give valuable hints on where the towns people went. Another interesting spell was "sleep" (that's not the name but that's what it does.) It puts people and monsters to sleep so that they are easier to kill. It is also neat for getting past certain guards that move in front of entrances you wish to pass through. (That turned out to be a really neat trick once I learned it! ). Yet another neat spell is the one of change. Where you can assume the identity of a few important people. Talking to different people while assuming the identity of different people yields different results, and can be very rewarding too. Now for the down side, and it is rather small. At first I disliked the game because some of the mazes early in the game were these "troughs" some what like rain gutters floating in space. They were not very pretty or imaginative. Other areas were similar but had scenery in between the areas that you could walk. That made things look much nicer. The low point of the game was fighting the second large monster. It was this huge bug that moved left to right as if on a horizontal track. It shot at you as you passed and only shot in one direction. This seemed like a glorified version of a game from the space invaders era. I felt very ripped off and hated the game at that point. I soon got the sword of fire and started to notice that is was important to switch weapons and armor and the creatures got MUCH MUCH MUCH more creative. From that point on the game became very fun and exciting. One more bad point is after I finished the last great creature the game went into this completely different area which seemed like it had no relation to the rest of the game. It did finally sum up what the whole game was all about, and the final final final creature was rather easy to kill. I didn't like that either at first but killing that last dragon was real challenging AND fun when I finally got him. I liked the game, there were about 12 big monsters, and they were a real challenge to kill. The second monster was that bug, that I hated and the last one was rather easy, but all the others much more then made up for those small short commings in the game. I liked the game and would recommend it to anyone who likes zelda/link type games. ------------------------------ From: Mark and Chris Runyan Subject: NES: Karate Kid This game is simple to play, though good hand/eye coordination and great reaction times are very useful in this game because many of the moves require split second timing. This adds a bit of realism to the game for those who understand how difficult the martial arts really are, but does cause some frustration for those who just don't have the necessary talents. This game has you playing 'Daniel-san' through four stages, which are the karate arena, a walk though the village in Okinawa, the same walk as before, but with a typhoon wind stirring up trouble, and, finally, the fight during the summer festival of Okinawa. There are several side screens that you may test your skills with if you venture into any of the open doors in stages two and three. All of this shows that the game provides a great deal of diversity. The game does have a two player mode (player one gets to go until killed and then player two gets to go) as well as a one on one mode (player one is Daniel-san and player two is Chozen). Chris (age: 8) thought this game was easy to start playing since there wasn't much needed in the way of reading to learn the basic skills to play the game. Also, the game was quite predictable. However, he found it annoying sometimes because of the tendency of the game not responding to the controls pressed. If 'Daniel-san' is hit, he is momentarily stunned and cannot attack back. If you get trapped between two attackers, they simply keep punching you back and forth until all your 'life points' have vanished, since no amount of button pushing is going to make 'Daniel-san' react. While this might add realism to the game, in that you would probably tend to stagger about if attacked in such a manner, it is annoying in a video game to not be able to have some control. I (age: 30) found the game fairly annoying in that the reaction speed had to be quite high to get through the game. The aforementioned bouncing back and forth happened far too often for him to find the game enjoyable. The frustration of figuring out how to make the character jump and avoid attacks made the game less fun. And, during the typhoon scenes, your character is under a constant backward 'wind' pressure so that judging jumps (or even standing still) is much more difficult. In stage three (the typhoon stage) when objects are blowing past you in the wind and two opponents are attacking you, the game often slows down, which means your split second timing of the kicks and punches are thrown off because the NES can't keep up with the games requirements. To sum it up, if you are going to play this game to see what it would be like to be the Karate Kid in the various stages, you may be disappointed. You don't have the fine reflexes of the Karate Kid or the amazing luck. You have your reflexes and the game is out to stop you so you don't defeat it too quickly. You have to decide whether to kick or punch, you have to judge the distance, and your timing has to be better than average, or your opponent is going to get you. Graphics: 7 A lot of effort put into graphics Sound: 5 The music was about average Fun Level: 4 It was easy to walk away from this game Intuitive Feel: 8 Simple and always do the same thing Documentation: 9 Covers what everything is ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall: 5 Chris thought it was ``OK'' The Karate Kid, for the Nintendo Entertainment System By EnterActive Video Games for NES ------------------------------ From: melvin@cgdisis.cgd.ucar.EDU (Lee Melvin) Subject: Genesis: Herzog Zwei Supreme Commander Number One (Herzog Eins -- this is a fun game for anyone who reads German) has taken over the world, and is ruling with an iron fist. You are one of Herzog Ein's highest lieutenants. You realize (momentarily, it seems, after helping him to conquer the world) that H. E. has become an evil dictator, and you rally the forces under your control to free the world. H. E., naturally enough, intends to remove your treacherous being from the face of the earth. So begins the battle in which you attempt to become Herzog Zwei, Supreme Commander Number Two. GAME MECHANICS: The game is an action/strategy variant played as either you against the computer, or you against another player (you can even have the computer play itself, if you like). There are eight 'terrains' to choose from, ranging from 'Abgrund' (canyon?) to 'Stadt' (city). You fly your jet cum transforming robot around and provide cover support while purchasing military units to attack the enemy. There are a variety of units to purchase, as well as a variety of commands that can be given to each unit. The units are: armored car, tank, attack cycle, infantry, SAM launcher, supply truck, ground cannon, and boat (did I miss any?). Commands vary from unit to unit, but basically you can 'sit and attack', 'attack nearest base', 'attack home base', 'circle around and attack anything that comes near', and 'wait here until unit comes into range, then go out blow it up and return to this position'. Each side has a home base, and there are a variety of support bases scattered across the playing field. Each support base can be taken over by putting 4 infantrymen into it, after which that base can be used for refueling and picking up equipment. Bases also increase the cash flow which allows you to buy troops. The game is won by destroying the opposing players home base. This usually consists of gradually taking over bases closer and closer to the enemy's home, then launching a final assault on the home base itself, although you can use some devious strategies to attack the home base at the beginning (ie, dropping cycles in 'Stadt'). You cannot damage the home base yourself, it must be done by your troops -- somewhat unrealistic, but necessary to the game balance. You can attack (personally) as either a jet or an oversized infantryman. As a jet you only shoot things in the air, and as an infantryman you shoot things on the ground. You consume 3 times as much fuel when you are a jet, so there are some times you end up walking back to the base. If you do run out of fuel, you explode. This isn't quite terminal, however -- you reappear back at your home base a few seconds later. It does lose you valuable time and any unit you were carrying when you died, though. GAMEPLAY There are two distinct varieties of play in this game: playing against the computer, and playing against another person. This statement may seem overly pedantic, but there is a valuable point here. That is, THE COMPUTER PLAYER SUCKS. There are 4 levels of difficulty, with the only difference between the hardest and the easiest being that the computer makes money a lot faster, can reappear at any base he owns (you always appear at home base), and your fuel doesn't take you as far on the harder levels. The computer always uses the same method of conquest -- once you figure out how to beat it, you always win -- it just takes longer on the harder levels. The computer player serves one vital purpose -- it allows you to learn the controls and mechanics without having to be humiliated by another person. Now, having said that, I will say that the two player version of this game is easily the best game I have (this is not saying much as I only own four carts right now, but still). Of the 5 people in our household, 4 have turned into addicts within 2 weeks, although everyone else refuses to play me now. We've already seen over 30 hours of gameplay on the cart, and it looks as if we may play until the cartridge melts. Also, unlike the other games I have, people will sit around and watch other people play. On the down side of that, there are problems generated by skill differences between players. It's very frustrating to lose, even if the other player is a good sport (I'm so so). If it happens to you too often you can get burned out. I've been encouraging everyone else to play the computer and each other just so I can get some skilled opponents. The graphics on Herzog Zwei are very well done. The displays are easy to read, the units are readily identifiable (assuming you've examined the pictures in the manual closely). The split-screen scrolling is really incredible -- no screen flicker (ala Altered Beast), and a really smooth scroll. The little indicator lights for the construction of your units -- a wrench and a hand making an OK gesture -- are a little campy, but its hard to gripe about trivial details. The graphics are really polished. Sound effects are numerous, as are the background music pieces. There are almost enough background songs that you don't get worn out on them after an hour's worth of playing. We run our Genesis though the mini-plug into the stereo, and I heartily recommend that anyone buying this game do the same (or anyone buying any game, for that matter). The music creates a lot of the feel of the game, and its much better in stereo -- really pumps you up when you're playing an intense two-player game. No discernible static from the stereo output, either. CONTROLS At the start of the game are a series of menus from which you can pick the number of players, the terrain you are fighting on, options to continue from previous games (password-based), as well as the difficulty of the computer player (when playing a one- player game). There is also an option to listen to any of the sound effects and background music used in the game. During the game, the D-button allows you to move your airplane/ infantryman around the screen. The A button is used to transform between airplane/infantry or to pick up/drop units, dependent upon your position. The B button is used to fire, and the C button toggles you from the game to the strategy map. Inside the strategy map, you use the D-button to move between menu selections and to select different units, commands, and radar views (long and short range). The A and B buttons are used to purchase units/commands. The controls are quite responsive but take some time to learn. It takes a number of games before you no longer have to stop and think about the functions of the various buttons, but after that it becomes automatic. The A button (transform/get) is used the most in the game, and there were several times I would bump into the other player and accidentally hit it rapidly over the fire button (B). This generally results in your ship being blown apart, and is somewhat frustrating until you get the knack. The only real problem occurs when you are trying to select units in the Strategy screen. If you are in a hurry (and you usually are), it's terribly easy to have the menu selector 'slip' up and down while you are trying to push left and right to scroll through the available units. DOCUMENTATION This is fairly typical Sega fare. They tell you how to use the controls, the basic premise of the game, and not much else. Among the various gripes concerning the documentation: nowhere does it mention that you can reload/repair units simply by flying them over a base for a moment (rather than purchasing supply trucks). Also, at the back of the manual there is a detailed listing of the capabilities and strengths of each unit. While I can readily understand 'attack power', I have no clue what effect the 'spheres of activity' has on each units performance. SUMMARY This is an extremely enjoyable game for anyone who likes two player head-to-head kill or be killed type games. If you enjoyed Archon you'll probably like this, and if you've ever done any wargaming you will probably like it a lot. The game is a nice blend of action and strategy; you have to actively fly around/drop units/ destroy the enemy's units, but its impossible to win at the game if you do not make effective use of your units. If you don't like strategy that much, or don't have someone else to play against, pass on this one. The computer player is good for teaching you how to play, but once you learn how to beat it 1-player games become very boring (at least as high as the C-level). However, if you take the time to play the computer on all 8 terrains at all 4 levels of difficulty, you've already gotten about 16 hours of gameplay out of the cartridge. I haven't yet determined if there's anything beyond that point. All in all, a very well done game that has a great deal of replayability within a limited audience. Herzog Zwei (roughly translates to 'Second Duke'), for the Sega Genesis price: $33-$40 ------------------------------ From: Bernie Freidin Subject: Genesis: Thunder Force III The first thing that I noticed when playing Thunder Force III was the incredible use of fancy graphics features. Throughout each of the 8 levels, the game keeps your mind busy trying to comprehend some new type of breathtaking independent scrolling or animation. In level 4, for instance, huge clumps of stone, usually far bigger than the screen, move up and down at certain points. This causes the level to constantly change, and you are forced to keep up with things to avoid crashing. In level 2, the background "waves" like a sine-wave (remember the title screen in Kenseiden on the Sega Master System?). Throughout the entire game you are treated to diagonal independent scrolling, parallax scrolling, and even independent, overlapping parallax scrolling. In one level, there is a huge independently scrolling starship that takes up many screens (similar to the one in the third level of R-Type). This starship is covered with lasers, cannons, and all kinds of stuff to blow up. Not only is the scrolling beautiful, but the graphics are as well. The color shades used in this game are absolutely perfect, and the animation is exceptionally fluid. Many levels have snake-creatures, made up of many individual sprites which are attached to one another like a chain. The snake in level 1 is unusually large, with a wicked laser mounted on its tail. The audio is every bit as fancy as the graphics, although it still isn't as musical as some of the tracks in Dungeon Explorer (a PC Engine /TurboGrafx-16 game). If you remember the soundtracks in TF II, you can imagine TF III soundtracks as similar, but with even more fancy note bending and special effects. Every level has a different soundtrack, as well as every boss. The sound effects are at least the same quality as those in TF II, and the same digitized voice announces the names of the power-ups you retrieve. Everything in the game runs smoothly and beautifully, and there is almost no flicker except while using Sever Lasers on a huge enemy, and when the "Game Over" spins into view. The only noticeable flicker is on the fire that the level 1 boss breathes out of his mouth. Speed degradation is non-existent. The only bad aspect of this incredible game is that the difficulty level is not very high. For people who have trouble with TF II, TF III should be challenging enough. But for people who have mastered TF II, TF III should not take longer than a few days to finish. This can be avoided if you force yourself to set the game to "Hard" or "Mania" mode and/or don't use any continues, but I'm not sure many people will have the willpower to do this. Everything else in this game is pure magic, from the fancy screen introducing each level and pinpointing the boss's weak spot, to the awesome power-ups, and to the gigantic, fully animated bosses that fill as much of the screen as the bosses of any arcade game. This game is by far the most impressive shooter available for any home system, and a definite must-have for all Genesis/Mega Drive owners. Graphics/Animation: 9.5 Sound/Music: 9 Depth/Gameplay: 9 Difficulty: 6 (10 on "Mania") Programming: 10+ Overall Value: 10 ThunderForce III (Mega Drive), for the Sega Genesis by Technosoft, only available in Japan ------------------------------ From: Bernie Freidin Subject: Genesis: Batman While the size of the sprites in Batman seem a bit small, this in no way detracts from the gameplay or the graphics. The action is really your standard punch-and-kick, but there are a lot of neat enemies and situations that you won't find in your standard punch-and-kick game. The graphics are fitting to the movie, being very detailed and dark. The music is excellent, and also enhances the aura of the game. The character control is a bit hard to learn, but once you've mastered it, it will become natural. Animation in Batman is very nicely done. As well as punching and kicking, Batman can throw Batarangs (or missiles in shooter stages, see below), and use the Batgrapple to reach high places. Pressing jump twice, if timed right, will cause Batman to do a somersault like in The Revenge of Shinobi. However, the timing is different and if you're used to the latter game, flipping in Batman may be difficult. When I got used to Batman flipping, I found Revenge of Shinobi flipping difficult. In Batman, you control guess who... Batman! through 6 levels which vaguely resemble locations in the movie. Level 4 is a "Batmobile" stage, in which you control the Batmobile. This level plays exactly like a horizontal shooter. Level 5 is a "Batwing" stage, in which you control the Batwing. This level also plays exactly like a horizontal shooter. Both the Batmobile and the Batwing are slow at maneuvering, but the Batman character doesn't suffer from this problem. In the beginning, the plot of Batman is presented along with some very nice pictures of characters from the movie (Batman, the Joker, and Vicki Vale). At one point in the game, there is a short animation sequence of Batman sliding out of the Flugelheim Museum with Vicki Vale on a cable, but this is the only animation sequence. It seems a little out of place, especially since there is very little else to tie the game with the plot of Batman. There is one nice scene at the end of level 2, however, in which you must push the Joker into a vat of acid. There is some minor flicker on the pipes in level 2, since they are handled as sprites and stretched out horizontally. Other that that, there are no other technical problems with the game. The difficulty in Batman I found to be just right, assuming you use default settings. Once I mastered a level, I found it quite easy to complete it again, but not necessarily so easy to finish the next one. The entire game took me around a week to finish. Some people may find this game too easy, and there is a "Hard" setting which can be activated. The game would also be much more difficult if you don't use the 9-lives trick (you can find it yourself, it's in levels 3 and 4). I recommend Batman to fans of action-type games, especially if the combination of Shinobi and Double Dragon sounds appealing. Graphics/Animation: 9 Sound/Music: 9 Depth/Gameplay: 8 Difficulty: 7 Programming: 7 Overall Value: 9 Batman (Mega Drive), for the Sega Genesis by SunSoft, only available in Japan ------------------------------ Subject: Genesis: AfterBurner II From: mfrose@caen.engin.umich.edu (martin f rose ) Normally, I'd start a review with some background on the game's scenario or possibly some advertising hype. However, it isn't hype or premise that led me to this game. You see, as far as I'm concerned, _AfterBurner_ is Sega's unquestionable arcade tour de force, a game well crafted in sound and visuals that leaves the player absolutely stunned and breathless, with, at long last, a true feeling of Being There. You can read the books, you can see the movie, but until you're actually in control of a member of the modern age of fighter aircraft, you can never know what it's like. When I'd played _AB_ in the arcade, I was finally convinced that I knew what it was like. (Or, at least, as close as I would ever get, since my glasses aren't just to hide my face.) I also wasn't looking forward to *any* home translation of the game, since I knew that no machine of the time could do it justice. Remember, this game hit the arcades before even the NES was on the streets of America, and Sega's version for the SMS wasn't a prospect that made my pulse quicken. I was convinced that no home game system could ever do the arcade game justice. Time for introductions: foot, meet mouth. The game play is a return to the greatest mechanics of video gaming: shoot everything and don't get hit. By way of introduction, in case you live in a cave, _AB2_ is a simple strike mission involving a jet fighter that bears a remarkable resemblance to an F-14 Tomcat. You fly very fast over enemy terrain (but can't voluntarily crash into it -- this is *NOT* a simulator!) as wave after wave after wave of MiGs come a-gunning for you. Though you have a little control over your flight path for dodging, your overall course is set and unalterable; no turning back. Controls are almost simple. The joy(?)pad (or stick) gives you full run of the screen, and each button serves a unique function. The controls are modifiable, of course; your vertical movement can be reversed (more intuitive if you use a joystick) and the button functions can be changed. Normally, your 20mm anti-MiG cannons fire automatically (with unlimited ammo), but that can be changed at the cost of one speed-control button (the one that slows you down). Game play is nearly identical to the arcade. The MiGs come out to play, and you gun them down or lock-on a missile and blow the snot out of them. Your missile supply is limited, and you get refills at prescribed intervals (the second refueling in the arcade involves landing the plane, but that has been omitted to avoid embarrasing the programmers), so don't shoot without a lock-on! The most confusing aspect concerns the infamous Barrel Roll. The manual describes this as "moving all the way to one side and suddenly changing direction" or words to that effect, but it is nearly impossible to invoke this magical move in a crisis, even though it seems almost unavoidable in regular play with the control pad. I think I figured out how it works, but it isn't worth the bother. High-speed visual effects were the strongest point in the arcade, and _AB2_ doesn't disappoint. The amount of "irrelevant stuff" (ground shrubs, artificial horizon) on the screen was reduced, but the game flows (or should that be "screams"?) as well as the arcade version. Even the barrel roll is perfectly executed, if you can invoke it. Sound was an area where I was expecting a big let-down, but I only got a small let-down. The Yamaha FM sound chip does its part nicely, but most of the soundtrack in the game is sample-driven, and it can be a little grating because of the low sample frequency they used. It was an ergonomic decision, I'm sure, but still...the orch burst needs a little more oomph... And finally, since everyone likes numbers: Graphics: 9 It Lives! Sound: 8 Aw, c'mon, try 22kHz for once! Control: 7 The control pad is a bit awkward... Gameplay: 9 It's in there. Overall: 8.5 If you liked the arcade game and though it couldn't happen, think again. "I give it an A." "...Sega!" AfterBurner II by Sega (?) for the Sega Genesis. ------------------------------------- To join this group or have your reviews appear in the next issue, please send electronic mail to Dave Taylor at the following address; digital-games@digital-games.Intuitive.Com We welcome reviews of games for any computer system, including the IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari Lynx, Sega Genesis, Nintendo GameBoy, NEC TurboGrafix, Amiga and so on. Back issues are archived as digests, as well as broken into individual reviews. To receive them via electronic mail, send a note to the address "info@limbo.intuitive.com" (or decwrl!limbo!info) with the body containing the lines "help" and "listall Digital.Games". The views expressed in Digital Games Review Digest are those of the individual authors only, and do not represent the views or opinions of Intuitive Systems or any of our affiliates worldwide. 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