Computer Gaming World Issue 50

Features:

• Fifty Issues and Proud of It! (Editor Russell Sipe explains what took him from being a Southern Baptist minister to the publisher of Computer Gaming World, and reflects on the changes he's seen over the last fifty issues)
  
• Questron II: Censoring the "Evil Book of Magic" (Scorpia rates and reviews the sequel to the best-selling Questron)
  
• Into the Hornet's Nest: JET and F/A-18 Interceptor Compared (Daniel Hockman heads into the Danger Zone to give us a live report on two new combat flight simulators)
  
• Over the River and Through the Woods: The Changing Role of Game Designers (Don L. Daglow, one of the original in-house programmers for the Intellivision, explores how the role of designers has expanded, contracted, and morphed since the 1970s)
  
• Win Money in the CGW Scavenger Hunt! (There $100 up for grabs if you can answer more of these 50 questions correctly than the next guy. They're all about CGW's history, and if you'd had the Retromags database back then like we do now, some of these would be easy-peasy instead of nightmarish)
  
• Destruction Unlimited: Psygnosis' Obliterator (Douglas Seacat really likes this action shooter about infiltrating an alien ship to destroy it from the inside)
  
• Jihad Destruction: SSI Invokes A "Stellar Crusade" (If it's interstellar war you want, it's interstellar war you shall have! So declares Hosea Battles in his review of this strategy/economic simulation mash-up)
  
• And Now For Something Completely Different: Winners of the CGW Essay Contest (A couple issues ago, they asked readers to write about the funniest thing that ever happened to them while playing a computer game. The answers are printed in this column)
  
• "Strike Fleet" Command Briefing (CGW reader Ronald F. Williams shares his best strategies for bringing the baddies in LucasArts' Strike Fleet to their knees)
  
• Yes, We Have No Bananas! Cinemaware's "The Three Stooges" (David M. Wilson reviews the madcap hijinx of the Stooges as they attempt to save an orphanage from foreclosure and marry the owner's three beautiful daughters)
  
• Seven Spirits of Ra (Alan Roberts opines on the best and worst of this Egyptian-themed action/adventure hybrid)
  
• Tobruk: The Clash of Armour (M. Evan Brooks looks over this World War II desert combat sim)
  
• Scorpion's Mail (Scorpia's answering some of her mail backlog in this column, which is why there's no "Scorpion's Tale" in this issue. She provides hints for Wasteland, The Bard's Tale, The Bard's Tale III, Beyond Zork, Wizardry: The Return of Werdna, Ultima V, and Might & Magic)
  
• The Stars...My Destiny (William "Biff" Kritzen reviews the computer game/board game hybrid Star Sage: One - Beyond the Boundary)
  

Departments:

• Taking a Peek:
  • Bubble Ghost (Atari ST)
    
  • Awesome Arcade Action Pack (Amiga)
    
  • TrianGO (IBM)
    
  • Stocker (C64/128)
    
  • Crystal Hammer (Amiga)
    
  • Larrie and the Robbery of the Ardies (Amiga)
    
  • Mission Elevator (Amiga)
    
  • Karnov (C64/128)
    
  • Zoom (Amiga)
    
  • Nobunaga's Ambition (IBM)
    
  • Demon's Forge (Apple/IBM)
    
  • Knight Games (C64/128)
    
  • Ninja Mission (Amiga/Atari/C64/128/IBM)
    
  • Main Frame (C64/128)
    
  • Sky Travel (Apple IIGS/C64/128)
    
  • Flight Simulator III (IBM)
    
  • Road Runner (C64/128)
    
  • Willow (IBM)
    
  • Alien Mind (Apple IIGS)
    
  • Monte Carlo (Apple IIGS)
    
  • Sea Strike (Apple IIGS)
    
  • Black Shadow (Amiga)
    
  • Foundation's Waste (Atari ST)
    
  • Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less (C64/128/Atari ST)
    
  • Rommell: Battles For North Africa (Apple/C64/128)
    

  [*]Video Gaming World (Console gaming in a computer mag! We really do cover everything, like):

  • Camerica Freedom Stick (NES)
    
  • Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)
    
  • Jaws (NES)
    
  • Super Pitfall (NES)
    
  • Global Defense (SMS)
    

  [*]Reader Input Device

  [*]CGW Hall of Fame:

  • Kampfgruppe
    
  • Gettysburg
    
  • M.U.L.E.
    
  • Mech Brigade
    
  • Chessmaster 2000
    
  • War in Russia
    
  • Ultima IV
    
  • Wizardry
    
  • Starflight
    
  • Gunship
    
  • Ultima III
    
  • Might & Magic
    
  • The Bard's Tale
    

  [*]100 Games Rated

Notable Stuff:

• The reference to Psalm 9:1-2 appears on the masthead.
  
• Taito continues with their three-page full-colour ads in this issue. They must have paid a fortune for this space.
  
• Congrats to Steve DeWall of Bethalto, IL and Jayson Hogan of Seattle, WA for winning first and second place respectively in the CGW essay contest!
  
• Star Saga: One, the board game/computer game hybrid reviewed by Biff Kritzen, cost $79.99 when it was released, or $160.95 when adjusted for inflation to 2014 levels. Is it worth that much? Well, Boardgamegeek.com rates it 8.61/10 stars, so you be the judge...
  
• Bill Kunkel really loves Jaws on the NES for some reason.
  
• Video Gaming World expands to 3.5 pages this issue.
  
• CGW's Hall of Fame adds four new titles to its roster: Gettysburg, Gunship, Might & Magic, and Starflight.