Date: Wed, 15 Jan 92 14:40:13 pst
Message-Id: <9201152240.AA06439@limbo.intuitive.com>
From: Info-Source <info@limbo.intuitive.com>
To: abbott@ms.uky.edu
Subject: Re: Your Request For Information


(send Digital.Games/Digests/Digest.32)

 
                        Digital Games Review, Number 32
 
                            Sunday, October 6th 1991
 
This issue we look at:
 
GameBoy:  Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Genesis:  John Madden Football
Mac: 	  Sands of Fire 
     	  Decisive Battles of the American Civil War, v.1
Amiga:    Flight of the Intruder (Preview)
          The Perfect General
PC: 	  Martian Memorandum
    	  Gateway to the Savage Frontier (2 reviews)

		     ----   ERRATA NOTICE ----

   Last issue there were a number of PCEngine games reviewed that were 
   accidentally listed as Genesis titles for the Japanese marketplace.  
   In fact, they are TurboGrafx-16 titles for the Japanese marketplace.

              We regret any confusion this may have caused.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
From: Andrew Bates <bates@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov>
Subject: GameBoy: Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 16:24:15 PDT

    To anyone familiar with the Mega Man series on the NES, Mega Man for the
Gameboy should be a welcome sight.  The plot is similar to the NES versions:
Dr. Wily has built eight robots (four each from the first two Mega Man games),
and he is trying to take over the world.  So you have to defeat each robot
before taking on Dr. Wily himself.  Besides your gun, you also have to ability
to absorb the powers of each enemy you defeat.  Thus, the farther you progress,
the more options you have at your disposal.  In fact, some weapons are 
necessary to get through other levels, so you must choose your way carefully.

    Graphics: Thankfully, the graphics on this Gameboy version are identical
to the NES version.  Mega Man looks the same, sans color, and the "feel" of
the levels is also very good.  At some points, when large enemies appear, there
is some flicker, but it is not very often.  The enemies are well done.  However,
each screen is smaller than the NES version, due to the decreased resolution.
As a result, there is less area to run around in, and each level goes by more
quickly.

    Playability: However, to compensate for the shorter levels, each is
more difficult than the NES versions.  This is one point which may very well
frustrate some players, since it often takes many many many tries to
complete a level./  Thus, there is a point when a level merely becomes
an exercise in repetition.  However, once a level is finished, a password
feature allows you to save your position.  This is absolutely necessary to
ever finish the game.

    Sound/BGM:  Sound is good, music is excellent.  The stereo effect of the
music is especially good.

    Overall, Mega Man is an excellent game.  However, it has a few bad points.
For one, the password feature does not go far enough in some levels, and
repeating the same moves for hours in a row just to reach a certain point
can be tiresome.  Also, once the game is finished, there is little incentive
to pick it up again.  Most of the fun of the game is in discovering new 
areas and new enemies, so it's not that exciting to play once you've 
finished most of it.  But while you're there, the game is really fantastic.
The controls are responsive, the action is hot, and the graphics are great.
Highly recommended.

    Graphics: 10
    Sound/BGM: 9
    Playability: 8
    Overall: 9

Mega Man:Dr. Wily's Revenge, Capcom, for Gameboy

------------------------------
 
From: decwrl!att.att.com!ihlpb!pdenton
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 91 21:56 CDT
Subject: Genesis: John Madden Football

When I purchased my Genesis back in December 1989, I was looking to upgrade
to new & improved sports games.  My friends and I had spent many hours
playing Bases Loaded, Tecmo Baseball, Tecmo Football, and Blades of Steel
for my Nintendo.  Unfortunately, the only sports games that existed then
were Arnold Palmer Golf, Soccor, and Tommy Lasorda Baseball.  Each game,
interesting and graphically superior, never held my attention long.

After a long wait of a year, Electronic Arts entered the sports arena
with Lakers Vs Celtics and John Madden Football.  The advertisements for
Madden caught my attention with talk of elaborate defenses and offenses,
different weather conditions, and even stats at halftime & end of game.

After plugging in Madden, you're given a rockin' tune complete with some
minor voice rap ( t t t t touchdown!!! ).  You get to choose from any of
the 16 NFL teams, given only by city name ( not officially sponsored ).
The teams do sport the actual team colors, including different uniforms
for home and away.  Even this minor touch adds to the game, making it that
much more realistic.  After choosing teams, length of game (5 or 15 minute
quarters, in real-time), and single or tournament game, you're treated with
John Madden's assessment of the teams playing.

Offenses and Defenses are chosen via menu, with more than needed variety.
Play is easy to learn, very similar to other games of it's type.  On defense,
Button B switches to closest defender to the ball, A dives towards ball
carrier, and C raises arms to block a quarterback's pass (invaluable weapon).
On offense, on a pass play, Button C brings up the passing window, and the
A, B & C now will pass to their respective receiver in the window.  On a 
running play, Button B spins around tackles, Button C pushes thru blockers,
and Button A dives for that extra yard.  It's basically that simple.
At any time, the defense or offense can call audibles, which for the offense,
is basically trick plays (eg. reverse).  There are very few penalties, only
for off-sides and defensive pass interference.

Graphically, the game is excellent.  The field is laid out well, and the
players movements are realistic.  There is no music during gameplay
(thank goodness.)  The sound effects are mostly digitized, from grunts and
groans to the referee calls.

Gameplay is adequate.  I would have like the weather conditions to be much
more hazardous for the controls, but as it is only the color is different.
One thing I don't like about this game, and many other sports games, is
no choice of difficulty level.  It would be nice if games became more
difficult during each game of the play-offs.  I can generally stack the
line with men and get a sack or blocked pass nearly every time.  
What is the most frustrating is the uncontrollables.  Opposition punts the
ball, but my receiver is not in position and just watches the ball go by.
Opposition passes the ball, and my defense is nowhere in sight.  I throw
the ball to what appears to be an open man and ends up he's covered.

Given that you can see over forty yards down field, I think there is
no reason for the 'passing windows.'  I enjoyed Tecmo Football (Nintendo)
where you looked downfield and could tell 99% who was open and make the
pass.  The opposition could also see this, and try to move a defender in
place to make a play.  This level of gameplay is lost in John Madden.
The only other problem I could bring up is why do I consistently miss
field goals and extra points?  The kickers on this game are terrible.
Anything over thirty yards is nearly impossible, not very realistic at all.

Even with these faults, it still is an enjoyable one-player game ( The
game's 'uncontrollables' make it to frustrating for two players.) 
Though I have not played Joe Montana, I have consistly heard that Madden
is superior.  If you want to pick up a football game, Madden is worth
picking up  (Otherwise, we can hope for a Madden II someday.)

	Graphics:	8
	Sound:		7
	Gameplay:	7
	Documentation:	9 (if you like to read)
	Overall:	7 (Good game)

John Madden Football, by Electronic Arts, for the Sega Genesis

------------------------------
 
From: cem@cs.brown.edu (Charles E. Moylan)
Subject: Mac: Sands of Fire 
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 18:05:41 -0400

Sands of Fire, from Three-Sixty Inc., is a sham of a game and I am
sorry I chose to waste my money on it.

First of all, the manual is practically worthless, as it gives a mere 
smattering of the historical period in which the game takes place and almost 
no instructions concerning the game itself.  There are vague references to 
different kinds of scenarios that you can play, along the lines of killing the
enemy, or maybe breaking through the enemy lines to escape, or whatnot.
However, points at the end of the game are given ONLY for killing
enemy units.  Thus there is no actual reward (or even a notion!) of
"breaking through the enemy lines" or anything like that.  One scenario
is no different from the next.

Add to this that often your own formation of tanks don't bother to
follow after your leader tank as the rulebook states they should!
This happens about 50% of the time.  As I played Sands Of Fire I
was consistently asking myself how in the world a so-called
"professional" publishing company could release a game so
absolutely RIDDLED with obvious and crippling bugs. I saw several
serious bugs within the first ten minutes if playing the game, so I
think it is fair to assume that the creators of the game knew that
it was full of bugs yet released it anyway.

In fairness, I should also point out the better points of the game and 
so I must say that I think the the _concept_ behind the game
is a good one.  I like the idea of a tactical tank simulation such
as this - I just wish the makers had taken more care in creating it.
It's the kind of game that _could_ have been quite good, if it had been done
right. In addition, the graphics aren't bad, albeit a bit slow.
They are not particularly special, but they are adequate.  The
sound is also satisfactory.  

I played the game on a Mac SE, in black and white (although, to the best 
of my knowledge it is not available in color).  I paid $35 for it at
a game software store.

In summary, I rate this game a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.  It looks
better than this on the surface, but a few minutes' worth of serious
play will reveal its many flaws.

In my opinion, I would suggest that you NOT buy this game.  As gamers, 
we should not support irresponsibly released and unsupported software 
like Sands of Fire.  

Charlie Moylan

------------------------------
 
From: mmarkowi@pepvax.pepperdine.edu (Mike Markowitz)
Subject: Mac: Decisive Battles of the American Civil War, v.1
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 91 15:49:35 PDT

The recent public TV documentary series seems to have revived interest in
the American Civil War (1861-1865) so this new SSG release is timely.
The generals who made that war such a futile bloodbath learned their trade
as captains and majors during the Mexican War (1846 - 1848).  In the 
intervening decade, the range and killing power of small arms increased
dramatically, but there was no rethinking of tactics or training. As a
result, Yanks and Rebs began the war standing in 18th-century columns and
lines to mow each other down with weapons of almost 20th-century lethality.

_Decisive Battles_ is a Macintosh simulation of the problems faced by
commanders in six of these battles:

  * First Bull Run (or Manassas), July 21, 1861
  * Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862
  * Second Bull Run (or Manassas), August 29-30, 1862
  * Antietam (or Sharpsburg), September 17, 1862
  * Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862
  * Chancellorsville, May 2 - 4, 1863

(Many Civil War battles have two names because the Yanks oriented to the
nearest creek or river, while the Rebs oriented to the nearest town.)

The basic units in the game are brigades of 1 - 3 thousand men, and each
turn represents an hour of real time.  You don't actually move individual
brigades -- you issue orders down through a chain of command, and the units
occasionally wander off on their own, which is historically
very  accurate, but disconcerting to the player.  Civil War battles tended to
sprawl over many square miles of woods and farmland, but without radios
or helicopters, generals had endless trouble controlling their own forces
and locating the enemy.  The game lets you recreate these conditions, or
ignore them by clicking a few options during the initial setup.

The Mac version of _Decisive Battles_ is a significant improvment over the
earlier PC version. You can play either side against a shrewd and 
determined computer opponent. You can get into the game's database to 
modify unit strengths, locations and arrival times, or even design your own
battles. The 16-color screens are very handsome, and the user interface
is smooth and intuitive. A new "cohesion" display feature causes the icons
representing brigades to crack and crumble on the screen as they suffer
casualties. The only "flaw" I found in the design is the seeming
indestructability of headquarters (representing senior commanders, staffs and
about 100 clerks and messengers). Leader casualties are unpredictable, and
cost you points, but the HQ's hang in there, holding ground and resisting
overwhelming concentrations of enemy fire. Something here needs to be
redesigned!

SSG is a small Australian software company with a unique combination of
historical scholarship and programming talent. Hardcore wargamers will
enjoy this demonstration that the Macintosh really can be a good game machine.

Subjective Ratings

  Graphics and animation: 8
  Documentation: 	  7
  User interface: 	  8
  Historical "feel": 	  8
  Overall value: 	  8

Decisive Battles of the American Civil War
Vol. 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville
designed by: Roger Keating, Danny Stevens and Ian Trout
published by: Strategic Studies Group (1991)
	8348 Monticello Drive
	Pensacola, FL 32514
	(904) 494-9373
For: Macintosh (1 Mb for monochrome, 2 Mb for color, System 7 compatible)
List price: $49.95

------------------------------
 
From: brad@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Brad Grier)
Subject: Amiga: Flight of the Intruder (Preview)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 91 00:16:21 MDT

Flight of the Intruder (FOTI) is a Vietnam War era Flight Combat
Simulator, based on scenes from the book (of the same name) by Stephen
Coonts.  FOTI was also made into a movie, but I prefer the book's story
to the movies.  But on to the software...

The package includes (subject to change upon actual release);

    - 216 page manual (excellent with historical data and scenario vignettes)
    - wall map of the theatre of operations
    - Intruder patch
    - 2 disks

In FOTI you fly either an F-4 Phantom II fighter or an A-6 Intruder
bomber.  Each is a formidable aircraft to learn, let alone master.  If
you've experienced Spectrum Holobyte's other combat simulator, Falcon,
you'll appreciate the depth and realism they put into the product.  FOTI
is no different, though you can regulate the difficulty level by
choosing your characters rank, options, and missions.

The Program

First out, you create a 'persona' or alter-ego to fly within the FOTI
world.  This is a simple method of entering a name and Call Sign.  The
Call Sign is important, as all radio messages to your aircraft (and your
wingmans if you have one) will use it.  This persona actually includes
two people in the Intruder, Pilot and the Bomber/Navigator, you get to
play both parts.

Then you get to choose missions;

    - Scramble              - Replay the last mission
    - Phantom pilot brief   - Fly Phantom mission
    - Intruder pilot brief  - Fly Intruder mission
    - CAG brief             - Design your own mission
    - Duty Roster           - Load a different aircrew

Phantom missions include anything from escorting Intruders and providing
top cover once on target, to Wild Weasel/Iron Hand missions
(anti-aircraft fire suppression).

Intruder missions are all ground attack (it's a 2 man bomber, no guns,
no dogfighting) though by using LAU-3A Zuni Rockets it is possible to
down a few MiGs.

After picking your mission, arming your aircraft, viewing the waypoints
to target, and checking out the latest intelligence on enemy activity in
the area, you're ready to launch.

Depending on the time of day of the mission, your world will be depicted
accordingly.  Also, if you are in bad weather, you will notice a
definite 'greyness' in the outside world (until you get above the
clouds).

After you launch and line up on your first waypoint, it's time to take a
look around.  Hey, there are other aircraft up here, and they're not
enemies!  This is the part about FOTI that I like the best.  You can
jump from cockpit to cockpit.  If your Intruders are steady on course to
the target, jump to the lead Wild Weasel element, and take out some SAM
sites.  Then jump to the Escort elements and take out those menacing
MiGs.  Then back to the Intruders to take out the primary and secondary
targets.

If you've killed all the MiGs, handily disposed of the targets, and the
flight back looks uneventful, simply turn on the AutoPilot, and toggle
the program speed-up option.

Once you near your carrier (The fleet has more than one...you have to
find yours or face the embarrassment of being the only Intruder on a
Phantom's deck) you are faced with the second most difficult aspect of
flying for the US Navy, landing on a Carrier.

You have an ILS (Instrument Landing System) similar to the one in
Falcon, to get you lined up on the landing deck.  Lining up is easy,
landing your jet is a different matter.  If you don't feel up to a
landing, you could let your Autopilot do it for you, or you could simply
End the mission in the air.  You won't receive credit for the landing,
but you will receive all the other points accumulated up to that point.

After landing, or choosing to end the mission, you will be de-briefed.
This includes a breakdown of how you did individually, and as an attack
group, as well as the squadron's current statistics.  After that, you
are awarded medals based on your individual performance.  This is
handled rather cutely, as your character is depicted in a bar with your
Bomber/Navigator and a medal case behind you.

The Simulation

FOTI is a multi-aircraft combat simulator.  You can move between
aircraft with a couple of keystrokes, and the computer operated pilots
fly and fight rather intelligently.

You can hook your Amiga up to another (or to an Atari ST) via Null Modem
cable and fly in cooperation with another human, or fly a MiG and try to
stop your opponent.

The graphics are quite well done, especially the clouds and the 'vapor
trails' from the wingtips in high-gee manuvering.  You can record your
performance via a Video command, or take a snapshot of your current
situation with a Photo command.  There are two external aircraft views,
as well as weapon, satellite, and carrier views.

The program is very versatile, and will allow Analog, or Digital
joysticks, as well as the Gravis MouseStick for control.  It will
recognize the ADSPEED accelerator and take advantage of it for graphics
generation.

Problems

FOTI was a challenge to convert to the Amiga.  Commodore had developed a
new operating system that was improved over the old one, yet hadn't
released it to owners of Amiga 1000's, 500's and 2000's yet.  So it had
to be compatible with Both.

American and European Amigas have some noticeable differences.  The
obvious ones are Screen displays (NTSC and PAL respectively).

Spectrum Holobyte decided to support the ADSPEED accelerator card, and
another bug hunt began.

Summary

Flight of the Intruder is expected to be shipped to dealers the first
week of October (appearing on store shelves a few days later).

On the whole, I like FOTI.  It's a window into a war that was
little understood.  It's a heck of a lot of fun too, unlike
the real thing.

Flight of the Intruder for the Amiga, from Spectrum Holobyte
  suggested retail price US$59.95

------------------------------
 
From: charbonn@sol.crd.ge.com (Michael R Charbonneau)
Subject: Amiga: The Perfect General
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 91 16:55:43 EDT

I just purchased the Perfect General and wanted to let everyone know
what a great strategy game it is.  It was written by Mark Baldwin and
friends (the creator of Interstels amiga empire).  It will run on any
amiga, the only requirement is a minimum of 1 meg of memory - and it is
workbench 2.0 compatible.

The interface is the best I have ever seen for a strategy wargame
(only exception would be empire). No lame IBM ported bullshit, this
game makes full use of the amiga. The interface has a sleek 3D WB2.0
look to it, and there is context sensitive help available at any time.
The help option is very useful for the novice wargamer who is just beginning
to master all of the nuances of multi-phase game play.

The game itself depicts unit level combat between ground units (tanks,
infantry, bazookas, engineers, mobile artillery and fixed artillery).
The game is very flexible allowing the player to set many options
(random hit, partial destruction of units, hidden units using line of
sight, etc.)  At the start of a scenario the player is given so many
purchase points that can be used to acquire whatever hardware the player
would like.  This gives you the flexibility to try different strategies;
a fast sweeping attack with many high speed armored cars, or a slow but
deadly heavy tank force.

The layout is similar to Harpoon or Populous, in that there is a small
world map in the upper corner that allows you to scroll the larger full
size map where the actual units can be seen.  The sound is very well
done, with different units making their respected sounds.

The game is not disk protected (manual protection), is easily installed
on a hard drive and also allows modem play. A typical game (playing both
attacker and then defender) takes about 3 hours.

All in all, it is a "must have" game along the lines of Simcity, Populous,
or any other great strategy game.

Some things I'd like to see:

1) the map scrolling takes too long, (I have a 68000) - when you click
on the global map the large map takes too long to move to the new place.
This should be speeded up - nothing worse then waiting for the map to move.

2) It would be nice to see a group move mode, similar to empire's , sometimes
it can be tedious when you want to move 15 vehicles to the same place.
I understand that this would create problems with passing fire, but maybe
it could be disabled in those circumstances.

3) There will be new scenario disks available soon, but I would really
love to have a editor available to create my own scenarios - and share
them with my friends. This would sell as well as the game itself.

Other then that, this game gets my vote for wargame of the year - check
it out you won't be disappointed.

	Interface	10
	Strategy 	 9
	Graphics	 9
	Sound		 8	
	Fun		10
	Overall		10

The Perfect General  $49.95, Modem playable, from QQP, for the Amiga

------------------------------
 
From: Andy Phang <phang_s@dropbear.cs.uwa.oz.au>
Subject: PC: Martian Memorandum
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 91 15:53:01 WST

Access Software is back with a sequel to its popular PC product, Mean
Streets.  While the original game starring Tough-Guy Private
Investigator Tex Murphy featured a mix of arcade and adventure elements,
the latest chapter in Murphy's case files leans heavily towards the
latter.  Titled Martian Memorandum, the glossy box promises lots of
intrigue, excitement, and state of the art multi- media technology.
Weighing it at over 7 Megs, one would certainly expect some- thing
special.

Your day as Tex starts just like any other.  Poking around your office,
you soon discover a few items essential for survival in the crowded San
Franciscan metropolis.  The gun in your holster, for example.  Then
there's the ammo you'll find on the shelf, the camera on the filing
cabinet, and most importantly, your Comlink.  With the Comlink, you can
call up your secretary Stacy and run a list of possible names and
locations for her to do some research on.  However, it's Stacy who calls
you first:  Marshall Alexander, the richest man in the world, needs your
services.  And so you make your way to Alexander's conglomerate HQ.

Alexander tells you that his daughter has been kidnapped, and he wants
YOU to find her.  To help you in your search, you're given a list of
possible leads (mostly names and addresses) you can travel to.  Some of
these leads will lead (naturally, since that's what a lead is for...)
to shady characters you must entice information from.  Eventually, your
search for the misssing Alexis Alexander will lead you into the jungles
of South America, and as the title of the game suggests, into the vast
remote outreaches of the Red Planet.

Extensive use of digitized footage, miniature sets and models, and video
styled animation truly lends some credence to the "multimedia" claim.
The graphics are great in 256-VGA, with photo realism in many places.
As you move Tex along the various play areas, the animation of the
walking Tex is directly taken from the actual walking patterns of live
actors.  One small gripe I did have with the Tex figure was its small
on-screen size.  I'm sure Tex would be the first to declare himself a
Big Big Man!

The "still" shots of areas such as San Francisco, Mars, and the South
American jungle must also be mentioned.  Similarly impressive is the
facial movements of the characters you speak to.  Martian Memorandum
provides close-ups of the faces, and it's great fun to see the different
people smile, frown, snarl, and even pout in response to your questions.
While Martian Memorandum is the "official" sequel to Mean Streets, the
final product (at least graphically) looks more like the successor to
another Access hit, Countdown.

The close-up conversations also highlight another great feature of
Martian Memorandum, the use of (often visibly synchronized) speech.  The
voices from the characters fit their personalities perfectly, from the
growl of Martian Casino Owner "Big" Dick Castro, to the sultry come-on
tone of Marshall Alexander's private secretary.  RealSound is supported,
but you really need a SoundBlaster to enjoy the speech and the digitized
sounds.  Access also has (finally!)  supported the Roland soundboards
with Martian Memorandum, and the music itself is extremely atmospheric
and well executed.  You can have the Roland (playing the music) and the
SoundBlaster (for the sound effects and speech) running simultaneously.

The preferred method of moving Tex around is via the mouse, though the
function keys duplicate the choice of menu selections on the screen and
can be handy in certain parts of the game.  Using the mouse, however,
just click on any location on the screen and Tex will walk there.  Click
on the choice of menu options to perform certain actions, such as the
obligatory Look, Get, Move, and Use.  When talking with other
characters, you can choose from (up to) three responses in reply to
their questions.  Once they are comfortable in conversation, click on
the "Ask About" icon to bring up the list of possible topics.  You can
also "Offer" items to certain characters, like the photographer with the
fake French accent...

The puzzles you encounter in the game are a mixture of dialogue (choose
the right things to say to certain people) and objects (use the right
object at the right place at the right time, etc).  Most of the problems
are fairly easy to solve, but if you're really stuck, there is also an
on-line hint facility (just click on the Help button!)  which gives
clues.  Saving and Loading games from disk is a breeze, and you should
do this often.  It is vital that you save your game before speaking to
certain characters (like Marshall Alex- ander's secretary in the
Restaurant).

Back to the plot, and you can't help but feel that you've heard it
somewhere before.  Especially if you've seen Arnie's summer flick of
1990, Total Recall.  Yes, Martian Memorandum has borrowed quite a few
ideas from the sci-fi hit, such as the "ancient Martian Civilization"
story branch, the vision of Mars as a "sleazy" Earth colony in the 21st
century, and the integration of the role of the "Martian Mutants" and
their fight for self-determination against an evil Corporation.
However, the game designers have managed to weave an equally intriguing
and compelling tale from these ingredients, and Martian Memorandum does
deliver a satisfying experience from beginning to end.

Martian Memorandum comes on 6 Hi-Density (5.25) disks, and a low density
(3.5) 10 disk version is also available.  It requires 256-VGA on the
IBM, and provides great music/sound support on all major soundcards.  A
Hard Disk is also needed (make sure you have approximately 7-8 Megs of
space), and on a lighter note, the installation process from floppy to
hard disk is probably the best I've ever seen.  After being subjected to
the hour-long waits by other games, I was really pleased at the speed of
installation, as well as the innovative way in which Access has done it.
Bravo, guys!

In conclusion, all I can say is that Access has done a superb job with
Martian Memorandum.  All the best things about Countdown and Mean
Streets have been retained, while the inane bits (remember the dreaded
Hovercard simulator from Mean Streets?)  have been discarded.  The
"multimedia" technology promised in this game isn't perfect, but with
time (and hopefully, in the next Access Adventure) this should be
redressed.  Adventure buffs, get it now!

  Graphics:    9                           Fun Factor:   8
  Sound/Music: 9                        Documentation:   6
  Gameplay:    8                          Ease of Use:   8

  Overall:     9

Martian Memorandum, by Access Software, USA. Released on IBM-PC, Sept 1991.

------------------------------
 
From: Andy Phang <phang_s@dropbear.cs.uwa.oz.au>
Subject: PC: Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 91 14:25:38 WST

SSI is certainly cashing in on its Advanced Dungeons and Dragons license
with the release of the latest in the "Gold Box" series.  Gateway to the
Savage Frontier (let's call it GSF for short) delivers more of the same
stuff you'd come to expect, namely a sprinkling of puzzles, some pretty
average graphics, and LOTS and LOTS of combat.

Many have called SSI's AD&D games (like Pool of Radiance and Curse of
the Azure Bonds) "combat simulators", because that seems to be the
dominating factor.  Nothing has changed in GSF.  Since GSF takes place
in a new part of the Forgotten Realms, you will not be able to transfer
any characters from previous AD&D games into this scenario.  Beginning
gamers can take heart, since GSF has two features that will make things
slightly easier when you start off.  First, there is the ability to
change the Difficulty level of the game.  This will reduce the number of
"hit points" required to kill each foe (then again, if you're
particularly masochistic, you can always INCREASE the number of "hit
points"!).  Secondly, when you create new characters, you can Modify
their statistics (Wisdom, Strength, and so forth) to supposedly match
the stats of your favourite AD&D characters.  It's also a neat way to
boost your abilities, though not by much.

Starting off in the Town of Yartar, your party awakes from a night of
disco dancing only to discover that some local thugs have stolen all
your worldly possessions!  You then scour the town, picking battles
along the way, until you bump into another fighter (who will join your
party after you rescue him, and lead you to your first sub-quest).
Eventually, after exploring one or two towns, you meet up with an
elderly mage who tells you about your ultimate goal in GSF.  Four
mystical statuettes have been scattered across the Savage Frontier, and
in order to prevent the impending invasion of the Frontierland by the
militaristic forces of Zhentil Keep, it is your task to recover these
four objects of power.

As you explore the Frontier, you'll come across a variety of towns (in
other words, mazes), ruins (more mazes), and generally anything and
everything that looks interesting, which turns out to be another maze.
As is often the case, these mazes are populated by a host of nasty
critters ranging from Medusae to Hellhounds to Giant Squids.  The
further you get into GSF, the deadlier the enemies become.  Remember
also that you start off with brand new characters, which means your guys
will have few hit points to spare in combat.  After a couple of fights,
and a few level advancements (which increase the number of hit points as
well as other attributes), you can be more reckless in picking fights.
Until then, retreating may be the only way out!

The story behind GSF can hardly be called innovative, though the use of
"plot paragraphs" in the game's manual does help set some sort of
atmosphere.  Be warned that not all the passages in the Adventurer's
Journal will actually be encountered during the game, so try not to read
ahead!  Otherwise, it's still the same "complete the subquests and
defeat the Big Bad Guy at the end to win the game" type of thing.

Perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects of GSF is the lack of any
real improvements to the AD&D Game system, in terms of graphics, sound,
OR gameplay.  I was really surprised to discover how mediocre the
graphics on GSF actually were, especially in (so called) VGA mode.
Having played my last AD&D computer game on an Amiga, I was really
thrown when I first booted GSF.  The colors were limited, and the icons
during combat lacked detail and finesse.  I had expected a lot more from
SSI (especially after the excellent VGA in Eye of the Beholder) but
eventually came away disappointed.

Sonically, GSF is nothing to shout about either.  It doesn't support the
Roland (SSI games never seem to, and I have no idea why), and your best
bet is the SoundBlaster.  Even then, the music that plays during the
intro is below par, and you won't hear much (if any!)  music elsewhere
in the game.  Sound effects are a definite letdown.  GSF hardly uses the
SoundBlaster's capabilities at all, and even combat noises like the
clashing of swords fails in the realism test (again, this is in
comparison to the digitized "clangings" you hear when playing the Amiga
version of AD&D games.  I believe such a comparison is valid since the
SoundBlaster can easily reproduce digitized samples like the Amiga.  The
fact that it doesn't suggests that the fault lies with the coders and
not the hardware).

SSI's Special Projects Team, the usual designers of its AD&D games,
wasn't actually responsible for GSF.  Instead, Beyond Software (an
out-of-house company which also designed SSI's Tony La Russa Ultimate
Baseball, and from all reports is a MUCH better effort than GSF) was
given the job.  All I can say is, Beyond had better lift its game or
stick to baseball simulations.  There will inevitably be a sequel to
GSF, probably to be released sometime next year, and hopefully with
actual (quantum leap?)  improvements to the GSF and general SSI AD&D
role-playing system.

In conclusion, all I can say is that you really have to be a fan of SSI's
AD&D stuff to enjoy (even in the slightest) Gateway to the Savage Frontier.
With all the other great role-playing games available now on IBM (Might and
Magic III, for example), I recommend that you pick up GSF only as a second-
last resort (well, it ain't great, but it ain't THAT bad either! Just very
close to it!).

  Graphics: 4                            Fun Factor: 5 (if you like AD&D...)
  Sound/Music: 4                         Documentation: 7
  Gameplay: 5                            Ease of Use: 5

  Overall: 5

Technical stuff:

Gateway to the Savage Frontier, by Strategic Simulations Inc (SSI), CA, USA.
Available for IBM-PC (Hard Disk "virtually" needed, EGA/VGA/Tandy graphics
supported, AdLib/SoundBlaster soundcards supported). GSF comes on 1 High
Density (5.25) disk or on two 3.5 (720K) disks, both in the same package.
Documentation consists of the obligatory Adventurer's Journal, Rule Book,
and Command Summary Card. A very nice SSI catalog is also included! Amiga and
C64 (why?) versions due out "real soon now, y'all"

------------------------------
 
From: reagan@hubcap.clemson.edu (Reagan Schaupp)
Subject: PC: Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 91 16:40:13 EDT

     GSF is the first volume in SSI's new Savage Frontier series.  It is
similar to the gold box format games in their Forgotten Realms and Krynn
series.  I played it on a 286 clone (16MHz), with a VGA monitor and internal
speaker.
     As always, I enjoyed their latest AD&D effort.  In this first game,
you start out robbed blind in the city of Yartar, and must comb the streets
looking for a quest.  The one you find takes you to Nesme, where you
ae to overthrow a priest of Bane.  In doing this, you meet your real adversary
briefly and receive your REAL quest: to recover four mystical statuettes and
use them to stop the invasion of Zhentarim forces and monsters from across
the desert to the east.  
     The plot was pretty good overall; nothing was seriously lacking, and
no spectacular twists that sent your mind reeling, either.  The plot was
completely linear.  That is, you always found out where to go next after
you'd been to a place.  In this way, you visited all the major cities in
the game and embarked on several interesting side adventures in your efforts
to regain the four statuettes.
     Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the format of the SSI
AD&D games and their interface, and to describe it in detail would take too
much time here.  Some minor differences I noticed in GSF were:

     1) Games took a long time to load and save.  This if course depends on
your hard drive and access speed, but for me it took abuot a minute or so
to load or save.  Longer than usual for them.

     2) Graphics were a bit better than other SSI games.  VGA capability
was used to some extent in bit-mapping the monsters during combat.  
"Character"-type encounters were still 16-colors, though (disappointing
if you have seen _Pools_of_Darkness_.)

     3) Sound was pretty good even on (are you sitting down?) my internal 
PC speaker.  The "clinks" of weapons hitting, the "swish" of them missing,
and the death wails of the monsters were OK.  I don't doubt but that the 
sounds would be much better on better sound hardware, too.

     Overall, the game was good for about 15-20 hours of playing time.  It
will work on any MS-DOS machine, although heaven help you if you're trying
to play it on an 8088 with a floppy drive (make that 100 hours of playing
time! :-) ).

     Graphics: 	  8
     Sound:    	  7
     Playability: 9.5
     Fun Level:   8
     Overall:     8

Gateway to the Savage Frontier, by SSI (MS-DOS), Typical Cost: $39.95
Copy Protection: word verification from one of the manuals

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