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Computer Gaming World

by AlfredoGambino

ColomaGiancanna

S outhern Californians are unabl eto resist the lure of the slopes

on those rare occasions when thesnow level drops into the vicinity o four local mountains . My editor sug-gested that my writing was going alittle stale, so it might be worthwhilefor me to take some time off andventure into the white stuff . Now, Iwasn't really expecting to pick upany juicy rumors about entertain-ment software when I visited SnowValley, but I no sooner entered th erental shop than I overheard th ename, Infocom. My ears perked u pand this advertising type started talk-ing about this new Legends ofLiterature series that the company issupposed to be working on . He saidthat Sherlock: The Riddle of theCrown Jewels is supposed to be thefirst release in this series . He alsosaid that this product marks the firs ttime Infocom has used an outsidedeveloper to design a product fo rthem .

I didn't hear what else he said be -cause I was grunting too loudly as Ipulled my boots on . My doctor toldme I had been eating too muchpasta. Still, I couldn't wait to get

lined up for the lift to the beginne rslope, so I popped into line behindtwo guys with United States OlympicCommittee patches on their jackets .Imagine my surprise when I dis-covered that they were talking abou ttheir new licensing agreement withEpyx . Apparently, the companywhich published Winter Games i splanning to launch a new productentitled The Games/Winter Editio ntied to the games in Calgary . Thegame is being developed with the as-sistance of the U .S.O.C. and pre-vious Olympic team members . Bigthings seem to be happening in Red -wood City because Epyx is expectedto announce its new "Consume rElectronics Division" at the WinterConsumer Electronics Show.The chair lift took us to the start o f

the beginner slope . As usual, I wascareful to criss-cross the slope intight turns in order to keep m yspeed down. Unfortunately, I com-mitted the unpardonable sin o fskiing . I didn't get my skis at theright angle and found mysel fpointed straight down the hill . Myright ski came off and I found mysel fflying directly toward one of the

snow-making machines (we have t oenhance everything in California) ,ludicrously balanced on one ski an dtravelling at a preposterous rate o fspeed. My life passed before myeyes, especially the recent dayswhen I picked up a tip aboutInterstel's Empire . It seems thecompany is planning to releaseanother version, perhaps Empire ll ,in 1988 . In this new version, infantr yand armored units would be hand -led differently; aircraft could b etransported by ship ; paratroope runits would be available ; full modemplay is anticipated ; and a full editin gsystem (including scenario editor ,map editor, and ability to name in-dividual cities) should be added . Thecompany's aim is to provide enhan-cements without allowing the gam eto become bogged down withmorale, supply rules and otherdetails . I also remembered that Inter-stel is planning on releasing a fish-ing simulator for bass fishermen(Gone Fishing) on the Atari ST an da boating, exploring simulation en -titled First Expedition (IBM) .With not a moment to lose, I

(Continued on page 48)

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Computer Gaming World

The Rumor Bag(Continued from page 10)

Accolade's "Card Sharks" Accolade's "Power at Sea "

,r te

gousul soliumautVIIM. hOy , ~

rl.a•Tom Frisina Describes "Harpoon "Research to CGW Staffer, JohnnyWilson

Accolade's "The Train : Escape toNormandy"

remembered my instructor's wisecounsel, "When you fall, and you wil lcertainly fall, fall up the hill ." I tsounds dumb, but it works. I cameto a soggy, but safe, stop about sixfeet from the snow-maker . I heardmy name called aloud and thatsurprised me . After a nervous looktoward heaven to make sure I hadn' tmisunderstood what happened andthis was, indeed, to be "my time," Iturned around carefully to see whoknew me . After all, no one excep tmy editor knew I was here. So, whoshould I see, but a lovely public rela-tions representative who hadwandered down from the "SiliconValley" for some fun and recreation .Always prepared, this femininevision passed along a plain, white en-velope with some screen shots andadvance information on Accolade' splanned releases for the Winter Con-sumer Electronics Show . She alsobrought me my A.W.O.L. ski and wecompleted our daring trek down thegentle slope, together .

We shared a cup of hot chocolat eand I eagerly opened the envelope .Inside were details about, The Train :Escape to Normandy . This C-64product will allow the player to as-sume the role of Pierre Le Feu ,leader of the French Resistanc emovement . In the course of the ad -venture, the player must seize the ar-mored train, bring it to "safe harbor "in Normandy, and by so doing, res-cue the priceless art treasures . Thenext document shared about PowerAt Sea, an action-strategy game fo rthe C-64, based on The Battle ofLeyte Gulf in World War II . Strategicdecisions are made during sceneswhich take place on the bridge an dthe action sequences consist of:ship-to-ship surface combat

, ship-to-air anti-aircraft routines, air-to-shipattacks, and ship-to-land bombard-ments . Another game to be an-nounced at Winter CES is CardSharks for the C-64 . This card game

allows the player to play againstcomputer-controlled opponent swhich each have different styles andstrategies for Poker (5 Card Stud, 7Card Stud, or Texas Hold 'Em) ,Hearts, and Blackjack. All the game sshould retail for $29 .95 .

I looked up from my reading andmy p .r . snow bunny had disap-peared . Fortunately, however, sh ehad dropped a napkin with som enotes on Data East . Those wholiked Ikari Warriors will be excited toknow that Victory Road, a sequel tothe earlier game, has been ported t othe C-64 and IBM. The company wil lalso introduce an arcade-style, non -technical flight simulator, using real -time and excellent graphics . Thetitle for this product which feature sfull panel instrumentation and realis -tic skyscape is Lock On and it is ex-pected to be released for C-64, IBM ,and ST.

After securing the documents an dphotographs in the glove compart-ment of my car, I hit the slopesagain. Well, I had intended to hi tonly the slopes . As it was, I foun dmyself hitting an icy section of theslope and unable to come to thesnowplow stop my instructor hadshown me. Of course, the fellow I ac-cidentally hit from behind felt like Ihad the "snowplow" part down pat .Our glasses, poles, and skis wen tflying . The other fellow, a rival jour-nalist for another computer publica-tion, demonstrated his lack ofvocabulary by muttering an unprint-able character string with scatalogi-cal overtones. As for myself, as soonas I discovered that there were n obroken bones, I made myself usefu lby picking up the notepad whichhad been dislodged in the fall . It wasthe other reporter's, of course, but Imanaged to catch of few scribbles

February 1988

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before I gave it back. He had note dthat the third installment ofIntellicreation's Alternate Realityseries is due to be released in mid -1988. The title is supposed to . beThe Arena. There was also a noteabout a 16-bit version of AlternateReality : The Dungeon . No definitiv erelease date was given .Then there was a note about

Electronic Arts's alleged foray int ointeractive fiction. He had a noteabout their Storyteller Systemwhich is supposed to out "Infocom "Infocom. I chuckled to myself be -cause I had been trying to get EA toconfirm that rumor for six months .SO far, the company says that thi srecurring rumor is way off base .

I handed him his notebook with asigh of relief that he didn't know any-thing about Three-Sixty's upcom-ing wargame, Harpoon . Based onthe successful miniatures rules an dboardgame (published by GameDesigners' Workshop) by Larry

Bond, this computer product shoul dhave an extremely different look andfeel than anything else on th e

market. Bond, . of course, assistedTom Clancy with the best-sellingnovels, The Hunt for Red Octoberand Red Storm Rising . He is a mem-ber of the Naval War College andacts as a referee for NATO war -games. According to our insidesource, Bond will be teaming withformer Digital Illusions' designer ,Don Gilman, to create a layeredproduct, user-friendly, but full ofdepth for the hardcore wargamer .The "Intelligence Phase" is suppose dto offer 1/700th scale repre-sentations of up-to-date naval ves-sels and aircraft . There is a "PracticeBattles" feature and the actual battl escenarios (the same types ofscenarios which Larry Bond sets upfor NATO wargames) will feature a nUltimate NATO Task Force withmore. than 50 platforms. Designedto be an educational product, as

well as an entertainment experience ,the documentation will be thick anddetailed . It is intended as a sup-plementary reference to the gameand not an integral part of thegame. One unique feature is th e"Staff Assistant," a help facility .When one is just learning the game ,he can delegate any number o foperations to the "Staff Assistant "whenever the intensity becomes toomuch to handle . When the playe rreaches a certain level of sophistica-tion, however, the "Staff Assistant "can act as executive officer (XO) tothe player.

Now that I think of it, I hope tha tother reporter didn't get a look a tmy notebook. In the meantime, i fyou want to keep the California skislopes safe for those who knowwhat they're doing, send your ho ttips and rumors to: The Rumor Bag ,c/o Computer Gaming World, P.O .Box 4566, Anaheim, CA 92803 -4566 .

FRIENDS, ROMANS,COUNTRYMEN .WE COME TO PRAISE "FORUM" AND TO OFFER IT

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"Forum" hath answered it . Therefore,we appeal to all honourable men (andfair ladies) who doth not own copie sof this lofty publication to purchas ethem. Computer Gaming World will gomonthly prior to the Ides of Marchand these twain "Forum" epistles shal lbe all that be of this fair but fatedfolio . Can you pass up the chance t opurchase a Forum and own a piece o fhistory?

Send orders to Computer Game Forum BackIssues, P.O. Box 4566, Anaheim, CA 92803.Send $3.00 for one issue or $5.00 for both.

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