Game Informer Issue 9

Features:

• The Wonderful World of Claymation: Game Informer chats with Michael Quarles, product manager for the Clay Animation department at Interplay, about what goes into the creation of a game like ClayMates.
• Creating a World of Our Own: With the advent of CD-ROM technology and higher-capacity cartridges, Game Informer sets out a glimpse of what the future holds with reviews of software like...:
  • View Point (NEO): 8.75/7.5/8.75
  • Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (GEN/SNES): 8.75/8.5/9.0
  • World of Illusion (GEN): 7.25/8.25/7.5
  • Flashback: The Quest for Identity (GEN): 9.0/8.75/9.75
  • Tiny Toon Adventures Cartoon Workshop (PC) (no review score)
• Great Graphics at a Glance: Screenshots from games that come closest to offering up full control of an animated experience, including...:
  • Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (SNES)
  • Cool World (SNES)
  • Road Runner's Death Valley Rally (SNES)
  • StarFox (SNES)
  • Ren & Stimpy: Space Cadet Adventures (GB)
• A Consumer Electronics Show Update: What you can expect to see previewed at the 1993 Summer CES
• A Historical Look At Video Games: The 8-bit Era: Part two of GI's short history of video games.
• Answers From the Top: GI interviews game designers Garry Kitchen, Daniel Kitchen, and David Crane about graphical innovations they've seen over their careers, and what they expect we'll be seeing next.
• Flashback Strategy: Find your way through the game's first three areas with these tips and maps.

Departments:

• Letter From the Editor: Beth Olson is reeling from her visit to the Winter CES, not to mention reading all the entries in the GI Chester Cheetah contest.
• Dear Game Informer: Where the readers talk back.
• Classics Attic: The GI staff reviews a game from yesteryear:
  • Metroid (NES): 7.75/7.75/7.5/6.5
• Tech Talk: The latest in video game hardware and software:
  • Panasonic 3DO
  • Pioneer LaserActive
  • Sega Virtua VR headset
  • Sega Activator
• Game Genie Swap Shop: Reader codes, submitted for your approval.
  • Sonic 2 (GEN)
  • Street Fighter II (SNES)
  • Green Dog (GEN)
  • Kid Chameleon (GEN)
• Fun Club Tip Line: Reader cheats, hints, and tips to give you the winning edge.
  • Sonic 2 (GEN)
  • Skulljagger (SNES)
  • Sol Feace (SCD)
  • Choplifter 2 (GB)
  • Desert Strike (SNES)
  • Bonk's Revenge (TG-16)
  • Joe Montana 3 (GEN)
  • Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
  • Gods (GEN)
  • Super Star Wars (SNES)
  • Blue Lightning (LYNX)
  • Super Double Dragon (SNES)
  • On the Ball (SNES)
  • Quack Shot (GEN)
  • Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? (NES)
  • Paperboy 2 (SNES)
  • Flying Warriors (NES)
  • Adventures of Lolo 2 (NES)
  • El Viento (GEN)
  • Ecco the Dolphin (GEN)
  • Fantasy Zone (GG)
  • Kid Icarus (NES)
  • Operation C (GB)
  • Super Tennis (SNES)
  • Chip's Challenge (LYNX)
  • Rad Racer 2 (NES)
  • Lemmings (GEN)
  • Ghouls 'n Ghosts (GEN)
  • NARC (NES)
  • Wonder Dog (SCD)
• What's Hot!: Rumors and news from the industry.

Reviews:

• The Lost Vikings (SNES): 8.0/8.0/9.25
• Kid Klown in Night Mayor World (NES): 6.25/7.5/5.5
• Bonk's Adventure (GB): 6.0/6.5/6.75
• Streets of Rage 2 (GEN): 6.75/8.5/6.75
• Road Avenger (SCD): 8.0/7.5/8.5
• Super Space Invaders (GG): 8.0/8.5/7.5
• Bomberman '93 (TG-16): 7.5/7.0/8.0

Previews:

• National Lampoon's ChessMeister 5 Billion and 1 (PC) (released as National Lampoon's Chess Maniac 5 Billion and 1)
• Battleship (GB)
• Mario is Missing (PC/SNES/NES)
• Shinobi 3 (GEN)
• Ecco the Dolphin (GEN/SCD)

Ads (in order of appearance):

• Culture Brain games - Ultimate Fighter (SNES) / Super Ninja Boy (SNES) / Fighting Simulator (GB) / Ninja Boy 2 (GB)
• Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (SNES/GEN)
• Taito games - Chase H.Q. !! (GEN) / Sonic Blast Man (SNES) / Hit the Ice (SNES/NES)
• Dragon's Lair (SNES)
• Congo's Caper (SNES)
• Game Informer subscription
• Tombstone Microwave Pizza $5 coupon for Jaleco games
• Super Bowling (SNES)
• HardBall III (GEN)
• 1993 Summer Consumer Electronics Show
• Irem SNES games - Street Combat / Dino City / GunForce / Super R-Type / The Irem Skins Game and free t-shirt offer
• Game Informer "Sink Your Teeth Into It" giveaway
• James Bond 007: The Duel (GEN)
• Road Avenger (SCD)

Notable Stuff:

• The Culture Brain ads of this era are works of psuedo-nonsense, with ad copy clearly translated by someone for whom English is not a primary language. Misspellings and sentence fragments abound. I love them!
• Adrian Cabural of Richmond, CA writes that among the reasons he likes the tips in Game Informer is that "most of them work". Pretty low bar there, Adrian...
• Wes & Mason Craig of Columbia, MO offer up the following Game Genie codes for Super Mario Bros. for your consideration in the "Dear Game Informer" section: ZEANIE, GOATEE, KAGIVE, LAXPEG, OATLIN, OATTAO, SUITOP, TOZVOA, TIEETO, VIOLET, XLUTSO, KENUET, and STAGEP. Any of our members want to try them out and let us know what happens?
• The review scores for Metroid in the "Classic Attic" column may seem low, but that's because the reviewers are using current-day sensibilities to review a game that was, at the time, six years old. Almost all of them dropped huge scores for Concept, Replayability, and Entertainment Value, but nobody awarded a score higher than a 6 in the Graphics and Animation or Sound categories, thus dragging the overall averages down significantly.
• There's a minor mistake on page 32, as Midway's Mortal Kombat is spelled "Mortal Combat" in the text beneath the screenshot.
• Likewise on page 32, there is an entry for an Irem game called "Max Mania" that never came out. There are probably a number of these in the article, this is just the first one I noticed. Gaming historians, take note!
• On page 33, you can see a screenshot for Zombies Ate My Neighbors for the SNES when it was still in development under the placeholder title, "Monster".
• Man, Ross and Paul really came down hard on Streets of Rage 2 in their respective reviews.
• Abel Loya takes the grand prize in the Chester Cheetah Sweepstakes! Other winners and runners-up are printed on page 58.