Electronic Games Issue 30

PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE

• Atari 5200
• Atari 7800
• Atari computers - 800XL
• Commodore VIC-20
• Commodore 64
• ColecoVision
• Apple - Apple II
• PC - IBM PCjr
• Coleco Adam
• stand-alones
• pinball (news coverage)
• arcade

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

Switch On! - Confessions of a Glitch Buster (editorial by Arnie Katz)

Hotline (news section)

• Consumer Beat (Sierra to co-develop games with Disney; Scarborough Systems dual-packs; Infocom's Four-In-One Sampler; NEC donates computer equipment to universities; Searchmart Corp's free-access online Software Library; Huttonline online service offers stock quote service)
• Coin-Op Beat (Gaplus; Star Light; Hyper Sports)
• Hardware Beat (IBM PC AT;Coleco Adam Digital Data Drive; Flexidraw light pen; Okidata's Okimate 10 Color Printer; K-Tel floppy disks)
• Calendar Of Events
• The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming! (Mastertronic upcoming games, including Chiller, Candidate, Duck Shoot)
• Junior Gets A New Set Of Keys (IBM PCjr enhancements; new keyboard, memory expansion)
• Most Large Companies Now Use Computers
• Museum Seeks Computer Artists (Bronx Museum of the Arts exhibit seeking submissions)
• Adam, ColecoVision Buyers Get Free Scholarships, Cabbage Patch Kids
• A Dozen Compu-Wizards Win Programming Contest (Edgame Challenge contest winners)
• What's Hot (trivia games; Trivia Fever, Trivia Mania, PQ - The Party Quiz Game, Factactics, Master Trivia, Flash Facts Trivia, The Trivia Arcade)
• Pride Electronics Buys Amiga Power-Sticks
• Timeworks Gives Disks For Cassettes (cassette-to-disk mailorder exchange program)
• Color Printers Will Be Big Biz In 10 Years
• Sweet Smell Of Software (Peachtree scented ads)
• Software Beat (Break Street, Planetmaster, Marathon, Danger - High Surf, Lode Runner, Sargon III)
• Teen Wins Dino Eggs Sweepstakes (Bill Braun, contest winner)
• Hayes Gets New Name (Hayes Products now CH Products; joysticks)
• Rock-ola Donates Eyes (donates Eyes coin-op to Mount Sinai Hospital)
• Bits & Bytes Scaled To Suit Compukiddies (Bits & Bytes computer convention for kids)
• Boot Me Up To The Ballgame (ITTXtra computer used to compare Shea Stadium baseball game statistics)
• Entertainment Beat (entertainment software and hardware; Activision Pencil; Plantin' Pal; Peanuts Maze Marathon; Smurf Paint & Play Workshop)
• Atari To Design New Computers
• Bradley, Hasbro Merge (Milton Bradley, Hasbro now Hasbro Bradley Inc.)
• Muddy Monitor? Time For Housecleaning! (Statiglass Anti-Static Cleaner)
• Entech Listens To The Public: Enhances Studio 64 (upgrade available for Studio 64 software)
• EG Readers Pick Their Favorite Games (top lists)

Readers Replay (letters column)

Gifts For Gamers

From chocolate computers to robots - something for everyone on your list. ('Goodies, Gizmos And Gadgets To Please Every Gamer')

Entertainment: A New Way To Play ('Games Aren't the Only Way to Have Fun' by Joyce Worley and Arnie Katz; non-game entertainment software commentary)

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COMPUTER GAMING SECTION

Action Arena (computer game reviews)

• Raid On Bungeling Bay (C64 disk)
• Moonbeam Arcade (Atari computers disk)
• Caverns Of Khafka (Atari computers disk)
• Pengo (Atari computers cart)
• Tennis (Atari computers cart)
• Satan's Hollow (C64 disk)
• King's Ransom (VIC20 cassette)
• Rescue On Fractalus (Atari computers cart)
• Pixie Pete (C64 disk)
• Star Wars (C64 cart)

Translations (port reviews)

• Pac-Man (VIC20 cart)
• Oil's Well (PCjr disk)
• Donkey Kong Jr. (Atari computers cart)
• One-On-One (Atari computers disk)
• Archon (C64 disk)
• Spare Change (Atari computers disk)

Passport To Adventure (computer game reviews)

• King's Quest (PC disk)
• Death In The Caribbean (Apple,Atari,C64 disk)
• Bounty Hunter (Adam)

Think Tank (computer game reviews)

• Market Mogul (PC disk)
• Fax (Apple II disk)
• In the Chips (VIC20 cart)

Playing It Smart (edutainment reviews)

• Tonk In The Land Of Buddy-Bots (Atari disk)
• U.S. Adventure (C64 disk)
• Dinosaur Dig (Apple disk)

Entertainments (entertainment software reviews)

• The Print Shop (Apple disk)
• Pic. Builder (Atari disk)
• Grandma's House (Atari disk)

Articles Of War (Objective: Kursk (Apple II,Atari disk) overview/strategy/review)

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Game Of The Month

A close-up look at Montezuma's Revenge and designer Robert Jaeger. ('Danger Lurks Beneath The Pyramid')

Players Guide To Microcomputers (sections:)

• The Microcomputers Cometh!
   
  • A New Era Dawns
  • Computer Games Take Over
  • The Computer Game Difference
  • The Game Explosion
  • Software Compatibility

• Meet The Major Microcomputers For Gamers

  • A Consumer Update On Today's Leading Brands
  • Apple: A Hardy Perennial
  • Atari 800XL: The Path Of A Legend
  • Commodore 64: A Star Is Born
  • Can IBM Save It?
  • The Big Bundle (Coleco Adam)

• Shopping For The Right Home Computer

  • How Much Computer Do You Need?
  • Picking The Right Micro
  • Will My Computer Become Obsolete?

Test Lab

An evaluation of Atari-compatible disk drives. ('Evaluating Atari-Compatible Disk Drives' by Henry B. Cohen; includes 'Drive Comparison At A Glance' comparison chart)

Electronic Gaming And The Handicapped ('Game Controllers for the Handicapped: More Than Just Toys' by Diane Yankelevitz)

The Archonomicon

A strategist's guide to Archon. ('Mastering Electronic Arts' Strategy Game' by Bill Kunkel)

Insert Coin Here ('The 3 Stooges In Coin-Opville' by Bill Kunkel; The Three Stooges (in "Brides is Brides") arcade game review)

Arcade America ('There's Magic in Them Thar Mountains!' by David Lustig)

Programmable Parade ('The First Releases for the 7800;' console videogame reviews)

• Joust (7800)
• Centipede (7800)
• Wing War (Col)
• The Heist (Col)
• Gateway To Apshai (Col)
• Frogger II: Threedeep (5200)

Inside Gaming

EG talks with Stuart Smith, designer of Return of Heracles. ('Stuart Smith: Master of Mythology' by Tracie Forman; developer profile)

Q&A ('The Questions Gamers Ask and Ask and Ask and...' by The Game Doctor)

Stand Alone Scene ('Stand-Alones Are Stars For Holiday Giving' by Joyce Worley; stand-alone reviews each with 'How It Plays' control section)

• Snoopy (Nintendo; tabletop)
• Handysound HS-501 Keyboard (Yamaha; electronic keyboard)
• Soccer (Gakken; handheld)

Reader Poll