THE GAME REVIEW =============== .a$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$&$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$&$$$$$a. $$' . `$$' `$$ ' `$$' s `$$' s `$$ $' $ $$ $ $$ a a $$ $ $$ $ $$ ISSUE #10 $ $ssss$$ $ $$ $ $ $$ $ $$ $ssss$$ $ o o$ $$ $ $ $$ sssss$$ssss. $$ 01/14/96 $. $ $$ $ $$ $ $ $$ $ $$ $ $$ $$. $ ,$$ $ $$ $ $ $$. $ ,$$. $ ,$$ `$&@%o%@&$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$&@%o%@&$$$$&@%o%@&hd' "All the games that are fit to print." Un-Releastic: "I have never played a game I didn't like." -Stu Pid Fewl Realistic : "This game sucks!" -Ionizer ***************************************************************************** _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ * _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ _\|/_ * NEW - It's TGR's first Poll! I want *YOU* the readers to rate the groups * that release games. The poll will last FOR TWO WEEKS, until 1/20/96.* The results will then be shown in the 1/21/96 issue. * * <>POLL ?: Which Games Release Group do you feel is doing the best OVERALL * job? (Most releases/Quality releases/Consistency/Ability to get * the release out quick/Problem-free are things to consider.) * * <>Possible Answers in ABC ORDER plus common short-term names: * Blade (BLD), Fist, Demolition (DMN), Dominator (DOM), Dragon (DGN), * Energy (NRG), Hybrid (HBD), Legacy (LGC), Masque (MSQ) Razor/CD (RZR/RCD), * Release on Rampage (RoR), Starlight (SLT), Tri Star & Red Sector Inc. (TRSi)* The Council (CNC), Velocity, Zombies...or any other you know of! * * TO PLACE YOUR VOTE WRITE MAIL TO "ionizer@ns2.clever.net". Make the subject* include the words "vote" and anywhere in the field include your VOTE AND * **ONE** VOTE ONLY. Make it clear what it is, especially if it is not a * common group, include the full name. Your participation will help make * this a reliable success and it only takes seconds to do! * ***************************************************************************** ============================================ HOW TO GET THIS MAGAZINE ON A REGULAR BASIS: -------------------------------------------- ("WHERE and WHEN can I GET The Game Review?" The Game Review (c) Ionizer,) (will be released every SUNDAY, in IRC, in #warez5 and other channels and) (can be obtained by /m iondcc xdcc list or /m ionizer xdcc list on Sunday) (This magazine is also released in the magazine Inquisition) (Which can be obtained at the following web site) ( http://www.terminalp.com/inq ) (You can now also The Game Review via the WWW @) ( http://www.aych-dee.com/tgr.html ) NOTE: THERE IS NO MAILING LIST OF ANY KIND! Subscribe to INQuisition if you want to be on the mailing list. =========================================== - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * GAME REVIEWS, RATINGS, UN-BIASED OPINIONS, HELP/TIPS FOR INSTALLING GAMES! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] -Rating scale: (0-19)/100 = In a nutshell, it sucked! (20-39)/100 = Still crap but slightly better. (40-49)/100 = Possibly worth downloading. (50-69)/100 = Pretty decent game. Might want to check it out. (70-79)/100 = Worth the download if you like that type. (80-89)/100 = Very good, 9 outta 10 its worth the download. (90-99)/100 = Excellent game, a MUST download. 100/100 = HOLY SHIT I'VE NEVER SEEN A BETTER GAME! -It's time for the reviews. The format is like this: Name of game, group, # of disks, review, rating. RATINGS are based on if you would have fun playing it NOW. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -<*><*> THE GAME REVIEW <*><*>- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- =Full Destruction SVGA Commercial= FCS, 6 disks. Kept coming out with an error. Tried subst/cdemu2/ fakecd, none worked. RATING: NA/100 =Tilt= ?, 32 disks. I believe this is the also known as "3D Hyper Pinball" or something like that and it was released by Hybrid, 13 disks a while back. However, I was unable to get their version to work, but I was able to get this one to work. This is an excellent realistically looking 3D rendered pinball game. It contains 6 boards, some of more quality then others. The sfx are what you could expect, but there is no music. Their are 3 graphic modes you can use, which changes what type of mode you play the game in (such as following the ball up and down the table, or an entire view of the table, or a mixture of, etc..). Try and play around with the graphic modes and view modes to get it so that you aren't going to want to vomit by the time your done playing. This is a very good, realistic pinball game, if you're looking for one. It's not the Pinball Fantasies type series, but it's very good. RATING: 76/100 =Virtua Girlfriend Krondor= Has the "1024" virus, and 99.9% chance it's fake. =Need For Speed Plus= FNW, 35 disks. It includes two bonus tracks, extra pictures, extra sounds, "new intro" and more according to the nfo. If you don't know what this is by now , then I'll tell you! Actually, no I won't, you should know... ok, ok j/k. NFS is one of the ultimate, if not the best, pc car racing games out. The graphics when put into full effect are supreme and realistic, and you don't see the same trees going by every second. The sound effects are what you can expect from a car game, and the horn on the cars is a cute feature. It has modem play, which I haven't test- ed yet, but would love to some time soon. This game is full of quality, it's from Road & Track, and they know their cars, ferrari's, acura lsx something or another and lots of other cars are included. An absolute must for any car racing fanatic. RATING: 95/100 =Realms of Chaos " '96 "= NFS, 3 disks. Ok this is like the fucking third time I've downloaded this registered Apogee piece of shit. How many more times do we need to release it. So I'll just DUPE my review like they duped this release: "Welp, no need to write something different for a game just because it was registered. We all know this just means more levels, but in some diff. color or some slight difference. So here's the quota from review4.txt: "Suprisingly somewhat good. Similar to Jill of the Jungle. I beat the sw version in less than 20 minutes. You'll be bored of this in less than 1 day if the reg. version came out." I stand by my word. I was done with it in 5 minutes." RATING: 41/100 Wow, a quote of a quote of a quote of a quote... =Fun 'n' Games Deluxe= For Kids Only (4KO), 9 disks. Well it's pretty good for size and what it has. Your little brother/sister or son/daughter might enjoy it. If you find yourself enjoying it, then I would assume your parents are also having a babysitter come over to watch you while they are out. It's got some games, paint stuff, music stuff, and well, just other `stuff'. It's not top quality, but it's not a piece of shit either. The games are probably good for someone aged 5-9, can't picture anyone else enjoying it. RATING: 61/100 =Power Rangers SS= ?, 22 megs <16 arjs>. It was so nice of this anonymous group to include all the files but the actual SS program itself. Now you can listen to really cool .wav's of lasers and other lame sfx, and have a bunch of use- less .ssi pictures on your hd, w/ no way of viewing those leet power rangers. RATING: NA/100 =Beavis & Butthead: Virtual Stupidity= Legacy, 29 disks, WIN95. RoR's release from a while back was only the diff. games that can be played during the "REAL" game. It's an adventure game where you, uhh huhuh, uhh Beavis, what's the point of this crap? Uhm, heh, I dunno, they just like wanna make money and stuff. It's a pretty good game, but the release cut out a lot of the .WAV's that are needed to play the game. So you hear some of the things they say, but have no idea what to do b/c you don't hear some of the other things. If you like this, I suggest buying it b/c that's the only way to fully enjoy it. RATING: 82/100 =BigTop Interactive (DEMO)= VCR, 9 disks. This is very similar to Fun `n' Games Deluxe, except it's for windows. It includes music, drawing, and some stupid ass "groove thing". It's for kids <*grumble hmrph*> and I'd say the age group for this one goes down to like 4-8. It's pretty much a strict-budget product, and is nothing that I'd go run out and buy for anyone. RATING: 42/100 =Tornado V1.0E= Legacy, 4 disks. Here's another version of this not too good flight simulator. The lack of decent graphics and colors make it seem so dull. I wouldn't even reccomend it to major flight sim enthusiasts. Although for its small four disk size, it might still be worth checking out. RATING: 53/100 =The Unreal Editor / Unreal Beta= RoR, 3 disks, WIN95. This is supposed to be Epic Megagames competit- ion for Quake. While this is just a beta version of the game, it looks VERY promising. The graphics are excellently smooth and good. The music is extremely superb. I was only able to walk around so it's hard to judge as to what the actual game will be like. This incorporates a lot of new things that we haven't seen in the usual "doom" type games. We'll have to see how the finished product turns out before we can fully judge it. RATING: 60/100 =Xenophage Beta (Public BETA)= Exile, 4 disks. It's Apogee's wannabe MK. The traditional fighting game. This one shows close up fighting, which makes it a very weak game, b/c it's more like smashing a couple of buttons fast and then you win. Not much movement involved if any at all. The graphics aren't too clear either, even though it's SVGA. The sound fx are barely heard over the lame music track. The announcer's voice makes it sound like your computer is losing power. It just doesn't have what it takes to compete with the rest! The beta includes 1 background and 3 characters, reg has 10 of each. Don't be expecting it to be the next MK or SF, it's just not good, but that's Apogee for you! RATING: 46/100 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*>GAME OF THE WEEK<*> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Games released a second time . So if you take those releases out, the best game of the week Tilt. Yeah, it was released before also, but had I gotten it to work then, it would have at least had a chance to win GOTW Tilt is an excellent realistic pinball game, a must for anyone who likes pin- ball games. It's got plenty of boards to keep you busy with, and the usual games to play on the LCD boards on the pinball game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*>UPCOMING RELEASE DATES<*> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key to system types: DCD = DOS CD WCD = Windows CD MCD = Mac. CD W95CD = Win 95 CD M3 = Mac. Disk W3 = Windows Disk W953 = Win 95 Disk D3 = DOS Disk HCD = Mac./Windows CD DATE TITLE SYS -------- ------------------------ ----- 01/29/95 Warhmmr:Horned Rat W95CD 12/28/95 Psychc Detcv DCD 01/08/96 Deep Space Nine DCD 01/09/96 Daedalus Encounter W95CD Kyrandia Trilogy DCD TTAX95 FDFN W3 01/10/96 Ganster Bundle DCD Phantasmagoria MCD 01/12/96 NFL Qback Club DCD Warhammer 40K WCD 01/15/96 Cyberia 2 DCD Elk Moon WCD Elk Moon #1 MCD H! Zone DCD Net Mech DCD Solitaire Deluxe W95CD TTAX 95 FDFN DLX WCD 01/16/96 Battlcrsr 3000 DCD X-Wing Collector MCD 01/17/96 Fast Attack D/W5C TTAX95 FN CA W3 01/20/96 AH-64D Longbow DCD Dinotopia WCD NBA Live 96 DCD Sensible Soccer DCD Top Gun DCD 01/23/96 Sport Hits 2 DCD 01/25/96 T-Mek WCD 01/26/96 Silent Hunter DCD 01/30/96 Escalation DCD Space Bucks WCD 02/01/96 Angel Devoid DCD Cry.Sys W95CD CYBERJUDAS DCD Empire II WCD Gabriel Knight 2 MCD Grand Prix 2 DCD HARVESTER DCD Heroes M&M MCD MetalLords DCD Promised Land DCD 02/01/96 Shadows Over Riva DCD Spr Bubsy/WIN95 WCD Starship DCD Terracide DCD Wing Commander 4 DCD 02/05/96 Doom II W95CD Ult Doom: Flesh W95CD 02/06/96 Nicklaus@Muirfield DCD Star Control 3 DCD 02/07/96 Chronomaster DCD 02/08/96 Pro Pinball:Web DCD 02/10/96 Madden NFL 96 DCD 02/15/96 Maximum Roadkill DCD Racing's Greatest DCD 02/16/96 A10-2:Silent Thunder W95CD 02/20/96 Ripper DCD Wooden Ships&Iron Men DCD 02/21/96 Whiplash DCD 02/25/96 Daggerfall DCD 02/26/96 Adams Pinball DCD Wizardry Gold HCD 03/01/96 Bioforge + DCD Citzns:Blckwtr Affrs DCD Civilization 2000 W95CD Confirmed Kill DCD Deathtrap Dungeon DCD Dragon's Lair II DCD Hoyles Classic MCD Indy Jones & Adv W95 Jagged H2H DCD Lost Admiral II DCD MAGIC/GATHERING DCD Master of Antares DCD Mortimer DCD MT:Earthsiege W95CD Nemesis DCD Pax Imperia DCD Police Quest 5 MCD 03/01/96 Shivers MCD Space Hulk 2 DCD St Trk Generations W95CD Super Heroes DCD 03/03/96 Mortal Kombat 3 W95CD 03/04/96 Tommy WCD 03/05/96 RBI '96 DCD 03/06/96 Rise&Rule/Anc Emp WCD 03/11/96 Hexen W95CD 03/12/96 The id Anthology DCD 03/13/96 Descent 2 DCD 03/18/96 Crystal Skull DCD 03/19/96 Hexen MCD Mission Force:Cyberstorm W95CD 03/26/96 Hammer Slammer DCD 03/27/96 VR Baseball DCD 04/01/96 Aikman Football MCD Colonization Gold DCD Klingon DCD Pinball Classics DCD Ripper MCD Sensory Overload DCD Toy Story Strybk DCD 04/10/96 NFL Football/Aikman DCD 04/16/96 VR Soccer DCD 04/24/96 Conquest/New World DCD 05/01/96 F-16 Fighting Falcon DCD Third Reich DCD 06/01/96 Chessmates MCD Northlands DCD Vision of Glory DCD 07/01/96 Jetfighter III DCD 08/01/96 Dragon Dice WCD ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*>CORRECTIONS<*> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -The WC2 Animations need to be run by doing this: After running the install, go to the main dir and edit the war2.ini. Look for the line "intro=0" and change it to "intro=1". Then run war2 It would be nice if the retarded group who released this, wrote this in an info. Don't worry if you already deleted it, b/c the intro was nothing special compared to the game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*>LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO<*> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS MAGAZINE IN NO WAY WHATSOEVER, CONDONES THE PIRATING, STEALING, OR ANY OTHER ILLEGAL MEANS OF OBTAINING SOFTWARE. I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBILE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AS A RESULT OF READING THIS MAGAZINE, NOR HAVE I DONE ANYTHING ILLEGAL TO OBTAIN THE REVIEWED GAMES. IF YOU LIKE THE HOW THE REVIEW OF A GAME SOUNDS THEN BY ALL MEANS PURCHASE IT AND SUPPORT THE SOFTWARE COMPANY. ANY AND ALL MAGAZINE GROUPS HAVE PERMISSION TO USE THIS IN THEIR MAGAZINE, AS LONG AS IT HAS NOT BEEN EDITED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <*>CLOSINGS<*> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If I missed any of the updated vers/small crappy games this week, then well that's too fucking bad, b/c I'm sick. -That's it for this week, hope it was of help. -Ionizer (Game Reviewer/MALiCE & Razor Courier) Comments/Complaints send to ionizer@ns2.clever.net (NO QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS) .a$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$a. $$' . `$$' `$$ ' `$$' s `$$ $' $ $$ $ $$ a a $$ $ $$ $ $ssss$$ $ $$ $ $ $$ $ $$ $ o $$ $$ $ $ $$ sssss$$ $. $ $$ $ $$ $ $ $$ $ $$ $$. $ ,$$ $ $$ $ $ $$. $ ,$$ $$&@%o%@&$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$&@%o%@&$$$ $$' o '$$$ $ $$' s `$$ `$$$$$ $$ $ $$$ $ $$ $ $$ $o $$$$$ $$ $ $$$ $ $$ $ $$ ~' o$$$$$ $$ $ $$$ $ $$ sssss$$ %. ^$$$$$ $$ $ $$$s s$$ $ $$ $$ $$$$$ $$. $ ,$$$$@. .@$$$. $ ,$$ $$ $$$$$ `$$&@%o%@&$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$&@%o%@&$$$$$$$$$$$$$$hd' Copyright 1996 Ionizer Inc. #167A939