Computer Gaming World Issue 39

Features:

• "I Think We've Got A Hit..." (Don L. Daglow outlines the twisted path to entertainment software success, using a typical week to show readers the kind of make-or-break decisions that resulted in the likes of Adventure Construction Kit)
  
• Phantasie III: The Wrath of Nikademus (Scorpia reviews the final installment of the Phantasie trilogy)
  
• Euclid vs. Patton: Field Algorithms For Wargames (Chris Crawford explains the complex mathematics that go into wargames AI for the layman)
  
• Scorpion's Tale - Dragon Side II: The Twisted Speare (Scorpia's pen provides the hints to tame the second Dragon Side installment)
  
• Gold Rush: A Report From C.E.S. (Massive five-page feature on the 1987 Consumer Electronics Show)
  
• PHM Pegasus (M. Evan Brooks reviews LucasArts latest sim covering the combat capabilities of the high speed Patrol Hydrofoil Missile craft)
  
• Goodbye 'G' Ratings: The New Wave of Adult Entertainment Software (John Williams discusses the past, present, and near future of companies releasing games aimed at players above the age of 16)
  
• Theatre Europe: DataSoft Goes to War (Bill Harrington reviews this 'could-be' strategy game of a Cold War gone hot)
  
• B-24: A Fresh View From a Bombsight (Leroy W. Newby discusses the extensive interviews and dialogue he engaged in with designer John Gray when developing this World War II bombing simulator)
  
• Inside Defender of the Crown (Kellyn Beeck, the game's own designer, offers up his personal tips and strategies for sending the Norman invaders packing)
  
• Titans of the Computer Gaming World (Charles Ardai is up to the fourth part of his five-part series, and it's a doozy. Prepare to learn more about Infocom than you ever thought possible!)
  
• Uninvited: A Guided Tour of a Macabre Mansion (Roy Wagner delves into the terror-filled halls of Mindscape's diabolical graphical adventure for the Amiga)
  
• The Sentry: Aboard the Ten Thousand Sentries Limited (Roy Wagner reviews this strategy/arcade hybrid from Firebrand software)
  
• Zen and the Art of Game Design (Greg Johnson, designer for EA's Starflight writes on the relationship between games and game design to life itself)
  

Departments:

• Taking a Peek:
  • Sigma 7 (C64/C128)
    
  • The Hobbit (Apple II)
    
  • The Fellowship of the Ring (Apple II)
    
  • Darkhorn (Apple/C64/C128)
    
  • Cauldron (C64/C128)
    
  • Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator (IBM)
    
  • EOS - Earth Orbit Stations (Apple II/C64/C128)
    
  • Legacy of the Ancients (C64/C128)
    
  • Street Sports Baseball (Apple II/C64/C128)
    
  • Jump Jet (C64/C128)
    
  • Valhalla (C64/C128)
    
  • The Lurking Horror (Many)
    
  • Stationfall (Many)
    
  • Hypersports / Ping Pong (C64/C128)
    
  • Mikie (C64/C128)
    
  • Rush'n Attack / Yie Ar Kung Fu (C64/C128)
    
  • Track and Field (Apple II/C64/C128)
    
  • Yie Ar Kung Fu 2 (C64/C128)
    
  • Airball (Atari ST)
    
  • Goldrunner (Atari ST)
    
  • Shuttle II (Atari ST)
    
  • Pirates (C64/C128)
    
  • Rommel At Gazala (Apple II/IBM)
    
  • Sky Runner (C64/C128)
    
  • President Elect 1988 Edition (Apple II/C64/C128/IBM)
    
  • Russia (Apple II/C64/C128)
    

  [*]Letters

  [*]Reader Input Device

  [*]Game Ratings

Notable Stuff:

• The reference to Psalm 9:1-2 appears on the masthead.
  
• The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring for the Apple II each include their respective books in the game's packaging, possibly a first for computer game cross-promotions.
  
• Mikie is the story of the popular spokesboy from the Life cereal commercials as he is chased through school by bullies, including the teachers and even the janitor. And the deluge of crappy product-endorsement games continues to this day.
  
• Don Daglow's columns for CGW are absolutely required reading for anyone interested in game design, either from a historical perspective or today's.
  
• In 'Goodbye G Ratings', John Williams says Milkyway Productions has re-released three pornographic Atari 2600 carts, and names two of them as Custer's Revenge and Bachelor Party. He claims the third one's title is too rude to mention, which makes me think it was probably Beat 'Em and Eat 'Em.
  
• That ad for Defender of the Crown always struck me as being extremely risque for the late 80s.
  
• Proofreader, thou has failed in thy duties again by misspelling Kellyn Beeck's name as 'Kelly' in his article. For shame!