Electronic Games Issue 26

PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE

• Atari VCS - Atari 2600
• Atari 5200
• Vectrex (news coverage)
• Atari computers
• Commodore computers - VIC-20 - 64
• Texas Instruments TI99/4A (news coverage)
• Intellivision
• Apple - Apple II
• Apple Macintosh (news coverage)
• PC - IBM-PC
• Coleco Adam
• stand-alones
• arcade

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

Switch On! - To Be or Not to Be - A Computer Owner (editorial by Arnie Katz)

Hotline (news section)

• TI Supports 99/4A (Texas Instruments - having exited the market - plans to continue 99/4A support)
• Tenex Offers Free Books ('Everything Book For Commodore Home Computers,' 'Everything Book For TI Home Computers')
• Atari Adventure Debuts In St. Louis
• Atari To Market Robots (Androman 2600 compatible robot)
• NCMI Adopts Arcade Standards (quality standards, SADD support)
• Apple Ban Holds Up In Court (Apple clones)
• Ice Cream, Robots and Games (John Phillip Tube Ice Cream Shops & Entertainment Restaurants to offer arcade games)
• Synapse Adds Brains To Games (games to adjust difficulty levels on the fly)
• Milton Bradley Drops Vectrex (MB exits industry)
• Donkey Kong Whips King Kong (Nintendo v. Universal City Studios)
• Mattel Exits Electronics
• Computerphobe's Revenge ('The I-Hate-Computers Book')
• Glitch Foils Decathlon Contest (change in contest rules)
• Software Beat (CBS licenses Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood; Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy games; Isaac Asimov's 'The Robots of Dawn' game planned; Adventure International licenses Marvel Comics characters; Synapse Software's Zaxxon (C64); upcoming Microsparc, Parker Brothers titles; Micro Fun's The Heist game; Davka Software's Bible Action Series games)
• Hardware Beat (Apple Macintosh; Coleco ADAM disk drive; Discwasher computer accessories; Commodore delays 264,364 indefinitely; Verbatim disks)
• Methodist Hospital Jousts With Sick (adds Joust to Children's Pavilion)
• Chips & Changes Starts 2-Year Tour (travelling computer tech show)
• Consumer Beat (Hot Shot line of VCS, ColecoVision games planned; Infocom hint books; Devil's Dare expert gamers offered refund)
• Teen Defeats Camel Attack (Soren Kaplan, contest winner)

Readers Replay (letters column)

Do Educational Games Really Teach?

Yes or no? Read this story - and decide. ('Are Fun and Learning Really Compatible?' by Vincent Pugla)

Hall Of Fame

Vote your favorite game into the select circle. ('1984 Hall Of Fame - Will Your Favorite Game Get Elected?' by The Editors of Electronic Games; nominees and ballot)

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COMPUTER GAMING SECTION

Software Showcase (computer game reviews)

• Lady Tut (Apple II disk)
• Stellar 7 (Apple II disk)
• Mountain King (Atari cart)
• Popeye (Atari cart)
• Gridder (VIC20 cassette)
• Computer Wars (VIC20 cart)
• Pogo Joe (C64 disk)
• Captain Cosmo (Atari disk)

Game-A-Thon (computer game reviews)

• Benji's Space Rescue (C64 disk)
• Nightraiders (Atari disk)
• Deadly Skies (VIC20 cart)
• Lode Runner (Atari,Commodore disk)
• Pac-Man (C64 cart)
• Ms. Pac-Man (Atari)
• Pipes (VIC20 cart)

Articles Of War (Parthian Kings (Apple II disk) overview/strategy/review)

Passport To Adventure (computer game reviews)

• Infidel (disk)
• The Dark Crystal (Atari,Apple,PC disk)

Think Tank (Murder By The Dozen (Apple II, C64 disk) review)

Electronic Pressbox (sports games reviews)

• One On One (Apple II disk)
• Golf Challenge (Atari cassette)

Playing It Smart (edutainment reviews)

• Wordrace (C64 disk)
• Stickybear Opposites (Apple II disk)
• Wordsearch (C64 cassette)

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Arcade Sound For The VIC-20

Want to improve your sound? We'll show you how. ('Hooking Up Stereo Sound for Under $5;' DIY)

Illustrated Computer Gaming Dictionary

The ins and outs of gaming slanguage. ('Jet-Age Jargon for Arcade Aces' by The Editors of Electronic Games; videogame and computer game terms glossary)

Skin Your Friends At MULE

Scheme your way to First Founder. ('Skin Your Friends At M.U.L.E. - Become Your Colony's Richest Citizen!' by Tracie Forman and Frank Tetro Jr.)

Players Guide To Electronic Baseball (sections:)

• Videogame Hardball
• Computer Baseball - A World of Strategy & Tactics
• Throwing The Ol' Coin-Op Curve Ball

Inside Gaming ('John O'Neill: The Dali of Computer Gaming' by Tracie Forman; developer profile)

In Control ('Get Into the Cockpit With the Flight Commander Control' by Tracie Forman and Bill Kunkel)

• Atari 5200 Trackball Controller
• Joy Sensor (Atari,ColecoVision compatible)
• The Flight Commander Control, The Cosmic Commander Control (VCS compatible; combo review)

Programmable Parade ('Explore the Ruins of a Lost Inca City With Pitfall Harry in Pitfall II: Lost Caverns!;' console videogame reviews)

• Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (2600)
• B.C.'s Quest For Tires (Col)
• The Dreadnaught Factor (Int)
• Snoopy and the Red Baron (2600)
• Worm Whomper (Int)
• Congo Bongo (2600)
• Centipede (Col)
• Buck Rogers (5200)
• Subterranea (2600)

Arcade English

Even watching can be dangerous. ('Coin-oppers Go Through the Strangest Gyrations' by Ted Salamone)

Insert Coin Here ('Crossbow: Straight-Shootin' Adventure!' by Bill Kunkel; Crossbow arcade game review)

Arcade America ('Playing Games at Aladdin's Arcade' by David Lustig; Aladdin's Castle)

Test Lab ('Rating the Videogame Jukeboxes' by Henry Cohen; videogame multi-switches)

Q&A ('The Doc Examines the ADAM' by the Game Doctor; includes commentary along with Q&As)

Games Library ('Serious Reading for Serious Gamers' by Charlene Komar; videogame books commentary:)

• Video Games by Daniel Cohen
• The Pac-Man Riddle and Joke Book by Mike Thaler
• How To Win At Zaxxon
• Pilgrim in the Microworld by David Sudnow

Toy Computers ('Toy Computers That Make Learning Fun - Small Computers for Youngsters' by Joyce Worley; commentary; hardware discussed and shown:)

• Story Reader Cassette Player (Tiger)
• CTW Sesame Street Cassette Player (Tiger)
• Teach & Learn Computer (Mattel)
• The Children's Discovery System (Mattel)
• Talking Picture Book (Tiger)

Stand-Alone Scene ('Sleeping Beauty: A Royal Good Time!' by Joyce Worley; each with 'How It Plays' control section (all shown))

• Sleeping Beauty (Inventa Game & Time; handheld)
• Pinball (Gakken; handheld)

Reader Poll