★ SALON ★ SALONS ★ COMPUTERS ENTERTAINMENT SHOW 1990 (AMSTRAD ACTION) ★ |
| Computers Entertainment Show 1990 (Amstrad Action) | Salon Salons |
Last year, like so many years before, there was the PCW show. It was the computer event of the year. It was where industry and public met. Unfortunately, there was a big row between the shows' organisers, and it ceased to exist. A new show stepped in to take its place. Well, two new shows. You see, the problem with the PCW show was that along with the well rad lesuire exhibitors, there was the boring, stuffy business hall full of PC stuff which was of no interest to anybody (except boring, stuffy business types with PCs). So now there is one show for business people, and one for games people called the Computer Entertainment Show... the coming months. Wandering around the show amongst the punters were an extremely bizarre crew. There were the hideously disfigured Nightbreed, looking ugly, but generally behaving themeselves. Then there were the Mutant Ninja Hero Teenage Turtles, attacking everybody in sight. And to keep them all under control, Robocop lurched menacingly along the aisles. The reason for this odd assortment was promotion, of course. Software houses will bringing all these characters to our computers very shortly, and they wanted to make sure we all knew about it. But let's see what else we found out would be coming the Amstrad way... Accolade Accolade had a fair few up-and-coming titles. Grand Prix Circuit, for example, puts you in the seat of a formula one racing car. You race around the circuit putting the pedal to the metal as you attempt to out-perform all the other vehicles. Gunboat has you controlling a US Patrol Boat. There are lots of missions, all with one thing in common - lots of enemies to machine-gun into oblivion. Star Control promises to be something really special. Set in deep space, it's a strategy game where you have to either conquer the galaxy yourself, or stop your opponent doing it. There are nine different scenarios, so it should keep you going for a time. Talking of strategy, Accolade has licensed Stratego from the MB boardgame. It's a cap-ture-the-flag game, which combines elements of chess and real warfare. The computer can take the place of your opponent, so there's always someone to play against.
Amstrad Amstrad had a large walk-on stand. And guess what took pride of place there? Yes, it was the official public unveiling of the GX4000 and Plus range of computers. The games Burnin' Rubber and Fire and Forget II were on display, along with ten other forthcoming games products. It did look like a few were cobbled together hurriedly to be ready in time for the show, as many of them looked virtually identical to the CPC versions. We shall see. The full story about the new console products can be found in AA's new section On the Grapevine... on page 30. Turn there immediately! (Well, after you've finished reading this!) • The Amstrad stand had the new, in-store demonstrator on display. >> Audiogenic Audiogenic is getting plenty of Amstrad software ready for the months running up to Xmas. Loopz, Helter Skelter, Exterminator and Emlyn Hughes Arcade Quiz have all been mentioned before in Amscene. It can be confirmed that Exterminator is an extremely odd-looking licence, but extremely good fun while it's at it! New on the list is Super League Manager. It's one of those football management games, but has a really pretty front end - it's looking good. One feature of the game is that it can be linked to Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, so you can influence the results with your playing skills. Electronic Zoo Electronic Zoo has licenced the famous table football game Subutteo for its first forage into the Amstrad market. It claims that the game is much more playable than many other football simulators because it's based on a true one or two-player game. Magic Garden will be along soon afterwards. You play the part of a gnome whose duty it is to keep the garden alive and well. A flower-growing simulator may sound a bit soft, but the gameplay looks like being a cross between Little Computer People and Sim City. Domark Domark's stand was packed with noisy arcade machines, and even noisier kids. There was good reason too. There's a lot coming our way. The latest of the Bond games is one. The Spy Who Loved Me features many sequences from the film. It involves lots ot vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up type sections, and lots of dodging cars as well. Wings of Fury puts you in the pilot's seat of a World War II planer. It's up to you to provide defence for your stricken aircraft carrier. Based in the Pacific ocean, it's a case of blasting the Japs to bits before they do the same to you. Badlands is the sequel to Super Sprint. The aim is the same: to complete a set number of laps before everybody else. The similarities end there, though. This time, you can cheat! Missiles are available to blast the other vehicles from the road, so if you're lagging behind your chum and can't catch him up, then blow him up! Stun Runner is an absolutely stunning (!) arcade game. It's Domark's big Christmas release, and offers excellent, fast 3D action. You're at the controls of an advanced Stun Runner which you drive through tunnels, riding the outer walls bobsleigh-fashion to gain speed. And should anything get in the way - well, that's what your lasers are for. In addition to this, there are loads of Tengen arcade releases making their way onto the CPC/Plus machines over the coming year. Domark's first console game will be with us shortly, too. It's that brain-teasing puzzler Klax. The gameplay is identical to the CPC version, but the extra tricks have been used to spice up the graphics. Incentive Incentive has won itself a Mastergame or two in the past with its innovative Freescape system. Now the company has taken it a stage further to produce the 3D Construction Kit. The kit will allow you to reproduce your own 3D enviroment, design your own 3D games and bring your CPC one step closer to modelling virtual reality - virtually. We can't wait to see it. But we'll have to. It's not scheduled for release until April next year. CDS CDS has been pretty quiet for a time now. It did have European Superleague on its stand, though. Mind you, it did last year too. The game's promised for an October release. Watch this space... A compilation of its Colossus Chess and Bridge games were also promised. We'll let you know.
Gremlin Gremlin had a running demo of its forthcoming biggie, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge. The game is of the standard road race variety, but the big difference is that two players can take part at the same time! The screen is horizontally split in two. Player one takes the top half of the screen, while player two controls the bottom half - you can actually see the other player as he zips past you! On top of this, it's a fast game, with a lovely dipping and rising effect as you race up and down hills. Ultimate Golf - Shark Attack is licenced from top Aussie golfer Greg Norman. The game has convincing 3D landscapes and Gremlin says that it's a truly realistic simulation, including real game factors.
Shadow of the Beast should be available any day now. It's a very, very pretty game and the action is fast and furious as you attempt to fight your way through to the beast. Keep an eye out for it. Also on the way from Gremlin are 10 Pack - a ten-game compilation, Supercars, and Celica GT4 Rally. More on those when we hear about them. Console wise, Gremlin has Switchblade. It's an exploration game, a bit like Rick Dangerous. Your adventure begins above ground, but you need to make your way deep into the bowels of the earth in your quest to rebuild the Fireblade. The small, cute, and well-defined graphics initially look a tad simple, but they fit together very well.
The Software Business The Software Business has up till now been acting as distributor for a number of software publishers. It has announced, however, that it is launching a label of its very own... Ocean Ocean had tons of stuff under development on the console. Robocop II, Navy S.E.A.L.S., Special Criminal Investigation , Toki, Plotting and Pang are all being written for the console. A whole load of existing CPC games were being converted, too - titles like Batman, Operation Thunderbolt and Shadow Warriors are on their way to this format. There are one or two tape and disk games coming up too, so you don't need to feel left out if you can't use cartridges. Total Recall, Nightbreed, Narc and Puzznic are all in the offing.
Kixx Kixx, US Gold's budget arm, annouced that it will be re-packaging all its products. Instead of the old pastel pinky colours, the game packs will look much bolder and brighter. Masses of big names are being budgetized for the run up to Christmas, so if you missed out on them a year or so back, now's your chance... US Gold US Gold has been kept busy. There's plenty on all formats coming soon. Strider II is the follow up to Strider. The hack-and-slash game has been uprated, with the ability to turn into a robot now and shoot things. Strider H will be available on cassette, disk and cartridge. Also on tape/disk will be Line Of Fire, U.N. Squadron, E-Swat, Night Shift, and a five-game compilation called Platinum. Mirrorsoft Mirrorsoft is gearing up with those Mutated Genus Tortillias. The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (not to be confused with Ninjas) are the company's major release for Crimbo. Already taking the toys world by storm, will these hardened heroes do the same on the home micro. Also coming is Back to the Future III, which will be released to coincide with the film. GTI GTI is a new company that specialises in startegy/management type games. They are all marketed at the budget price of £2.99. Titles include Classic Punter, Classic Trainer, Soccer Director and The Manager. Microprose Microprose had none other (and nothing other) than Rick Dangerous II. Read the full review on page 46!
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