Computer Gaming World Issue 23

Features:

• Operation Market Garden: A Review (Bob Proctor critiques this WW 2 sim, and provides a list of 5 things SSI could do to improve future products as well)
  
• Fog of War: A Critique of "Limited Intelligence" (Jay Selover explores how computer games exploit and limit player knowledge when it comes to war game simulations)
  
• Computer Games 1985: A Report From Summer CES (Rick Teverbaugh reports on a number of software titles previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show)
  
• Ultima II (Patricia Fitzgibbons reviews the Mac version of the sequel to Lord British's original RPG hit)
  
• Amiga: The Dream Machine (For once, Jon Freeman has nothing to gripe about: the Amiga really is that awesome)
  
• Game of the Year Awards (Reader vote will determine Best Wargame, Best Adventure Game, Best Strategy Game, Best Action Game, and Game of the Year from a list of 28 candidates).
  

Departments:

• This 'n That (Editorial briefs)
  
• Taking a Peek:
  • Beach-Head II (C64)
    
  • Strip Poker (Many)
    
  • CompuBridge (Many)
    
  • Super Bowl Sunday (C64)
    
  • Statis Pro Baseball (Many)
    
  • Computer Circus Maximus (IBM PC)
    
  • Star Crystal (Apple)
    
  • Captain Goodnight and the Islands of Fear (Apple)
    
  • Wizard War (IBM)
    
  • Pride and Prejudice (Many)
    
  • Starball (Apple/C64)
    
  • Starclash II (IBM)
    
  • Force 400 (IBM/TRS-80)
    
  • Atari Smash Hits #1 (Atari)
    
  • Dr. Seuss - Fix Up the Mix-Up Puzzler (Many)
    
  • Star Fleet I (IBM)
    
  • Math Blaster! (Apple/IBM/C64)
    
  • Spell It! (Apple/IBM/C64)
    
  • Clash of Wills (Atari)
    
  • Wilderness (Apple)
    
  • Wishbringer (Many)
    
  • Situation Critical (Apple/Atari/IBM)
    
  • Maps U.S.A. (C64)
    
  • Wizzardz & War Lordz (IBM)
    
  • Championship Boxing (IBM)
    
  • Golan Front (IBM/C64)
    
  • Golden Oldies (Many)
    
  • Mech Brigade (Apple/C64)
    
  • Computer Quarterback (Many)
    
  • Colonial Conquest (Atari/C64)
    
  • Reach for the Stars 2nd Edition (Apple/C64)
    

  [*]Come Cast A Spell With Me (Roe Adams looks at Japanese adventures and the major differences from their American counterparts)

  [*]Atari Playfield (David Stone takes Atari to task for missing its target ship date for the Atari ST, then applauds them for getting Six-Gun Shootout and Gemstone Warrior into the CGW offices)

  [*]Sports Scoreboard (Rick Teverbaugh prepares you for the next wave of sports sims)

  [*]Dispatches (Dan Bunten writes on the paradox of the requirement for software to be both challenging and user-friendly at the same time)

  [*]Scorpion's Tale (Scorpia offers up hints for Phantasie)

  [*]A Crock of Crawford (Process intensity vs. data intensity: Chris Crawford explains what they mean and why developers should care)

  [*]Strategically Speaking (Reader-submitted tips for the following games):

  • Reforger '88
    
  • Guadalcanal Campaigns
    
  • Operation Market Garden
    

  [*]Micro-Reviews:

  • The Railroad Works (Apple/C64/IBM)
    
  • Six-Gun Shootout (Apple/Atari/C64)
    

  [*]Commodore Key (Roy Wagner looks at the evolution of sound and voice on the C64, and some productivity software used to speed up disk drive access)

  [*]Reader Input Device

  [*]Game Ratings

Notable Stuff:

• This issue is 2 pages longer than previous issues. Yay for more content!
  
• The reference to Psalm 9:1-2 appears on the masthead.
  
• EA offers a $1,000 prize to three lucky winners in their Adventure Construction Set contest. But all entries become public domain. Which means they get to sell more copies of ACS and make money off your efforts if you wind up famous. Sneaky, sneaky, EA.
  
• So there's kind of a date change with this issue. To conform more to retailer standards and get the issue on newsstands before the cover date, CGW changed its dating format. This means there are only five issues published in 1985, but they extended everybody's subscriptions by one issue to compensate for the moving date problem.
  
• The reviewer notes that the models used for Strip Poker are anatomically correct. Um...should we have expected otherwise from a game revolving around nudity?
  
• Page 12 features a small ad for "The VIP of Gaming" magazine, offering 4-, 6-, and 12-issue subscriptions. The joke was on anyone who paid though, because VIP of Gaming folded after 5 issues.
  
• Roe Adams refers to "Custard's Last Stand" as an example of 'porno software'. Maybe he means Custer's Revenge for the Atari 2600?
  
• Lode Runner was absolutely massive in Japan, becoming the first US export to become a Japanese coin-op conversion title.
  
• Used to be having a tip accepted to the "Strategically Speaking" column earned you a two-issue subscription (or subscription extension) to CGW. Starting this issue, you get five bucks instead.
  
• WTF, proofreaders? "Starting this issue we play $5.00 for each [...] tip used"? Really? On what, the lottery? We expect this sort of thing in the first few issues, but you've been around for five years now. Could nobody catch this?
  
• Commodore Key this issue is reduced to a simple side-bar.