Electronic Games Issue 8

PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE

• Atari VCS - Atari 2600
• Arcadia 2001 (preview coverage)
• Colecovision (preview coverage)
• Vectrex (preview coverage)
• Mattel Intellivision (preview coverage)
• Atari 400 - 800
• Commodore VIC-20
• Apple II
• Odyssey2 (preview coverage)
• Astrocade (preview coverage)
• stand-alones
• arcade
• pinball

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(TOC excerpts follow, with (notes) and bullet lists added for clarity)

Switch On! - No Knockoffs! (editorial by Arnie Katz; knockoff arcade games)

Electronic Games Hotline (news section)

• Activision Close-Up (new design studio, Official Georgia Championship sponsorship)
• The Coming Of... The Atari Force (comics included with select Atari games)
• Pac-Mania Strikes Hallmark Cards (Hallmark stock Pac-Man themed items)
• Tron: A Dream Come True (by Arnie Katz; movie review)
• The Cat's Meow (Crazy Climber, Frisky Tom handhelds)
• The National Arcade Scoreboard (top scores)
• Atari Aids Special Athletes (Atari sponsors California State Special Olympics)
• The National Vanity Board (top scores)
• Zaxxon Takes To The Air (Zaxxon TV commercials)
• Defender Grabs Top Spot (top video games)
• Tomytronics Unveils Tron (tabletop stand-alone)
• E.G. Readers Pick Their Favorite Games (top lists)

FEATURE: Customizing Coleco's Pac-Man

You can soup up your stand-alone Pac-Man in just a couple of hours! ('How to Add a Joystick and Other Frills to Your Mini-Arcade' by Henry B. Cohen; modifying Coleco tabletop Pac-Man and Galaxian to include Atari-compatible joystick port, volume control and AC adapter.)

Q&A (by the Game Doctor)

Test Lab

Our expert gets to the core of the Apple II computer system. ('Coring the Apple II' by Bill Heineman)

Readers Replay (letters column)

SPECIAL FEATURE: Electronics Games' 1983 Videogame Preview

There are more cartridges than you can shake a joystick at. ('Here Are the Cartridges We'll Soon Be Playing' by Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel; running commentary divided into the following sections:)

• (intro discussing upcoming systems and system add-ons)
• Atari
• Intellivision
• Odyssey2
• Coleco
• Astrocade
• Parker Brothers
• MCA
• Activision
• Games By Apollo
• Vectrex
• Arcadia
• Vidtec (U.S. Games)
• Data Age
• Tigervision
• CBS Videogames
• Telesys
• Spectravision
• Twentieth Century Fox
• Emerson Arcadia 2001
• Imagic

How To Cheat At Videogames

A tongue-in-cheek guide to home arcading loopholes. ('Tricks of the Trade Revealed' by Bill Heineman; includes 'Trumping the Arcade Aces' by Arnie Katz)

SPECIAL SECTION: The Players Guide To Electronic Football Games

EG's magazine-within-a-magazine surveys the gridiron games. (running commentary divided into the following sections:)

• Can You Win The Video Super Bowl?
• Inside Computer Football - You Don't Have to Be A Pro to Win!
• Stand-Alone Scrimmaging - There's Plenty of Strategy and Action!
• How To Beat The Gridiron Games

Insert Coin Here

Our verdict on the new coin-ops. ('Son of Berzerk Meets King Tut!' by Bill Kunkel; includes intro and arcade reviews:)

• Frenzy
• River Patrol
• Tutankham

The Special Look Of Tron

Find out how Disney Studios did those fabulous game sequences. ('The Magnificent Look of... Tron - Inside the Videogame Movie's Special Effects' by Les Paul Robley)

The Videogame Hall of Fame

Which videogames have EG's readers voted into immortality? ('Readers Enshrine Two Great Games' by The Editors of Electronic Games; Defender and Star Raiders)

Programmable Parade

The best - and worst - in new videogame cartridges. ('Face the Terrors of the Alien Cave!' by Bill Kunkel & Arnie Katz; console video game reviews)

• Space Cavern (VCS)
• Yar's Revenge (VCS)
• The Empire Strikes Back (VCS) (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
• Starmaster (VCS)

Computer Playland

Our critics make sense of game software for microcomputers. ('Brave the Perilous Skies of World War II!;' computer game reviews)

• Night Mission (Apple II)
• Snack Attack (Apple II)
• Cricketeer (Apple II)
• Airstrike (400,800 tape,disk)
• Jupiter Lander (VIC20 cart)
• Tumble Bugs (400,800,Apple II disk)
• Pool 400 (400,800 cart)

Inside Gaming

The truth about that designer-of-mystery, Mark "Sneakers" Turmell. ('The Real Truth about Mark Turmell' by Steve Davidson; running discussion commentary)

Joystick Jury

Our readers debate burning issues. ('Translations or Original Games - Which Way's Best?')

Strategy Session

Find out how to score higher at Space Jockey, Yar's Revenge and Mouskattack with these hints. ('Score More Points in These Popular Games' by Frank Tetro Jr.)

• Space Jockey (VCS)
• Yar's Revenge (VCS)
• Mouskattack

Arcade America

A visit to a sunbelt game palace. ('Journey to a California Game Palace' by David Lustig)

Game Library (by Charlene Komar; book reviews)

• Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games
• How to Win at Donkey Kong (by the editors of Consumer Guide)

Coin-Op Classroom

Make a monkey out of Donkey Kong! ('Making a Monkey Out of Donkey Kong' by Bill Heineman; arcade Donkey Kong strategies)

New Products

• Pac-Man Lighter
• Game Safe
• Stick Stand With Fastball Knob

Pinball Palace

Hot trend in flipper - and flipperless - games. ('Hot Trends in Coin-Op Pinball' by Roger Sharpe; intro and reviews of the following:)

• Hyperball
• Caveman
• Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man

Stand-Alone Scene (Lead the Electronic Army to Victory!' by Joyce Worley; short intro and reviews of the following:)

• Electronic Stratego (electronic boardgame, shown)
• TC-7 Air Traffic Control (tabletop stand-alone, shown)
• Taro, The Mystic Card Reader

Reader Poll