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C O N S O L E M A G A Z i N E
FRoNTiER magazine is (c) copyright 1994
September 1994
EDiTOR: Gordon Craick
3Do ? Jaguar ? Genesis ? CD-i ? CD32 ? GenesisCD ? Super Nintendo
and all other consoles
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
iNDeX TO iSSuE 5
*******/\*******
Welcome
Updates
Changes
Feedback
News
- Projecting - The Ultra64
- Atari steps up for the holiday season
- Philips sets the future with a new CD standard
- 3DO ][ in development
- Mortal Kombat 2 hits the streets
- Jaguar the 10th!
Commercial Advertising
Features
- Ultra 64 - What can we expect?
- The complete list of upcoming 3DO software and hardware
- Mortal Kombat 2 - The Moves!
Editorial/Opinion
- Is the upcoming console war good or bad?
Reviews
- Super Street Fighter 2
- Ken Griffey JR Major League Baseball
Mini Reviews
The Cheater's Den
Trading
Support sites/distribution
How *YOU* too can help out Frontier
How to contact Frontier
Credits/Thanx
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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FRONTIER returns, again after a delay of one month to bring you
lots of exciting news and developments. Apologies and also thanks
go out to those who contacted me when I planned issue 5 to be
released. Sorry to let a few people down, but things were looking
fine until unexpected distractions popped up :( At least it is nice
to know though that people are waiting eagerly for each issue, its
good to feel wanted! :) Frontier sort of got left out for a while,
and by the time I got back to it, it was already mid August. Rather
than release an incredibly late August issue, I decided that a
better idea would be to release issue 5 in September.
There have been a few of these delays lately which you have
probably noticed, which has made me consider making the magazine
bi-monthly, or decreasing each issue to mainly include news and a
few reviews, with feature articles coming every couple of months.
It is mainly these features articles that take the most time with
Frontier, and to put together a decent one requires a fair amount
of my time. Anyway, let me know what you think! it is largely up to
you as readers as to how you would like the magazine to continue.
Frontier is still looking for contributions from video game players
from right across the world to make the magazine even better. The
quick review format gives you an even greater opportunity to throw
together a review, just put around 200-300 words together in
whatever style you like and Frontier will publish it for all to
read! We are also looking for general feature articles, similar to
you have already read through previous issues of Frontier. If you
think you are especially knowledgeable on one area of the video
game industry, why not put together a feature article on all you
know? What may seem obvious to you, will most likely be of interest
to other readers.
The next few months are definitely going to be one of the most
exciting of the last few years, with the release of the ineffable
PS-X, Saturn, 32X, JaguarCD, and also exciting games such as Donkey
Kong Country, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Doom, uncountable
racing games, and many more. Advertising is going to reach near
fever pitch, with just about all the major video game manufacturers
pouring millions into advertising over the months leading up to
Christmas. Its going to be hard to ignore the fight no matter where
you turn, as all the companies will be harping their 32 bit
machines like there is no tomorrow. Unfortunately not all of us are
rich enough (eg: like me :) ) to afford _all_ of this new
technology, but then again, it doesn't cost a cent to sit back and
watch the results unfold with a grin......
Gordon Craick (Editor -> FRONTiER magazine)
< September 19th, 1994 >
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UPDATES
***/\**
ALTHOUGH Frontier aims to make fewer mistakes than some other
magazines, it would be naive to think there wouldn't be any. In
earlier issues, several people have pointed out some inaccuracies
or clear mistakes. Thanks to those people who did so, if I don't
know about it - I can't correct it :) No one has reported any
obvious errors in issue 4, so there are no updates this month, but
let me know if you find anything that needs updating next issue.
CHANGES
***/\***
For those who are just wanting to throw a few words together (say
100-300) on a particular game, Frontier now includes a "Mini
Review" section for these types of reviews. This should hopefully
expand the number of reviews that we get in Frontier, as often
people don't have that much time to throw together a full review.
Full reviews will of course be preferred, but if you don't want to
take the time then this is fine.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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FRONTIER has been very grateful to the readers who have taken their time
to write to the magazine and express some ideas and opinions. I'm
_always_ after any sort of feedback, so whether you like everything, or
something really annoys you let me know. If you're willing to express
and opinion that you wouldn't mind publishing (maybe you've been
expressing an opinion in some of the console newsgroups) here's your
chance to let everybody else know what _you_ think.
If you feel like a conversation on the console industry (or in fact
anything!) send my some email, the best ones will be published in
Frontier for others to join in on.
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PROJECTING - THE ULTRA64
***********=/\=*********
Work on the Ultra-64 (the new name for Nintendo's Project Reality)
is getting closer to a working prototype, after many months of
constant "ifs" and "maybes". Several games are reported to be under
development, both by Nintendo, and third party developers. Exact
details are still under tight wraps, but the word is that the major
video game producers already have the development stations in their
hands.
As with Nintendo's style, they are trying to keep all exact
details secret until much closer to release. While they may be
trying to dampen some of the (possibly less than impressive?) news
for the next while, for such a project, even Nintendo will find it
hard to keep details quiet for long.
Many reports indicate that the Ultra-64 may be the first console
to include new projection technology. For those who are a little
unsure of what this means, imagine your own personal video game
cinema displayed on your own wall (!) and you will have an idea of
what Ultra64's projection technology will allow. If this turns out
to be the case, no longer will you need a television set to enjoy
your video games - the display device is actually built into the
console itself! This also seems to agree with Nintendo's promise to
deliver "virtual reality without a headset" which sounded almost
entirely hype at first, but now seems a bit more credible.
Projection technology might not be quite that revolutionary, but it
will be an exciting experience for players. For more details and
some guestimates of the final Ultra64, see our feature article in
this issue!
ATARi STEPS UP FOR THE HOLiDAY SEASON
*******************/\****************
Atari is planning on using the Christmas buying rush to help boost
its flagging Jaguar sales. Up to $10 million dollars will be spent
on advertising over the next few months, along with an aggressive
attack against other console manufacturers such as 3DO, and the
ageing SNES and Genesis. This campaign will include cable, and
free-to-air television broadcasting, along with extensive print
advertising.
So far, the main problem that Atari has faced is the lack of
Jaguar machines, as well as software being available in only a
handful of stores. Atari has been looking carefully at this, and
has been asking consumers what _they_ think will make the Jaguar
sell better. To help increase availability, Atari is looking to
extend new distribution partnerships, and persuade stores reluctant
to stock Jaguar products to do so. Manufacture of machines at IBM
is also set to be stepped up, so that more Jaguar units are
available on the shelves in the Christmas rush.
Atari has promised that many more Jaguar titles will also be
released closer to the Christmas holiday period, to make the
machine more attractive to a wider market. Several titles will be
released simultaneously in October, and Atari expects up to 20-30
titles to be available by Christmas.
Late 1994 will probably decide the fate of the Jaguar. With so many
other machines coming onto the market, and a stack of exciting
software to go with them, Atari is going to struggle hard if they
can't get a large existing base by the end of the year. While the
machine may be the cheapest to buy, players will be reluctant to
purchase a machine with a severe lack of recognition (largely media
driven) and titles.
PHiLiPS SETS THE FUTURE WiTH A NEW CD STANDARD
*********************=/\=*********************
Philips believe they have finally come up with a new CD standard,
which could revolutionise the gaming market by the end of the
century, possibly even sooner. Philips are well known for their
initial development on the first CD's back in the early 1980's,
where they quickly set the standard for the discs we know and use
today.
6-8 gigabytes are reported to be able to be stored on just one
of Philips new standard-size CD disc, using improved pitting, and
read-head technology. This is several times more than is currently
possible on the standard disc, where only (yep, we can say that
now!) around 500-700 megabytes are possible.
This standard looks like also dominating the digital video market,
where a replacement for magnetic video-cassettes has not really
been viable enough to take off. In mid-1995, Philips will release
the first players utilising the new standard, which is sure to
revolutionise both the video game, and home audio-video market. Up
to 200 minutes of CD audio, or around 134 minutes of very high
quality MPEG2 compressed video can be filled onto one disk.
A large question to be asked is just who will be the first video
game company to include the standard on their machine? Sony,
Nintendo, and Sega will already have their machines on the market
by this time, so does this leave 3DO to sweep the board with 3DO2
and this new standard?
3DO ][ iN DEVELOPMENT
*********=/\=********
The 3DO standard is already making a strong entry into the video
game market once dominated, and still largely controlled by the
heavy-weights of Nintendo and Sega. Several companies have obtained
hardware licenses for the system, and the good, and not so good 3DO
titles are being now released. This flow isn't just going to dry
up either, with much more coming its way to the 3DO in the coming
months. Developers have been quick to see the opportunity to reach
a newer audience, along with recognising the relative ease of
programming a powerful machine.
As first stipulated by the 3DO company, 3DO will not just be a
single machine, but a growing standard. Keen to keep up with the
increase in hardware capacity, 3DO has announced its preliminary
standard for 3DO ][, where the first machines will be released in
late 1995 or some time in early 1996. While this is only a initial
standard, the final specs are not likely to be too different.
PROCESSOR : 66mhz RISC (centered around the PowerPC chipset)
MEMORY : 4 megabytes RAM. 4k internal processor cache, 4k data
cache. 64K for save game storage.
BUS : 400 megabytes a second
GRAPHICS : 250,000 textured polygons per second. 150,000 triangles
per second. Hardware texture mapping, Goudrad shading,
3D perspective. Z-buffer support
COLOURS : 24 bit (basically the same as the 3DO-1 standard)
OTHER : MPEG compression as standard, MPEG2 as addon.
RESOLUTION: 640x480 (interlaced)
STORAGE : CVD CD-ROM (approx 1.25meg/sec). 2:1 hardware
compression
OUTPUT : NTSC, PAL, HDTV, RGB, SVGA as standard (same machine
for all countries)
INPUT : Individual 32k RAM save cartridges, further upgradeable
PRICE : $300-$400
3DO also plans on releasing a plug-in upgrade for existing 3DO
units at the same time as 3DO-][ machines are released. Machines
with this upgrade will supposedly perform the same as the
individual 3DO2 machines. 3DO estimates a price of around $100-$200
for the upgrade.
If the 3DO2 standard turns out as planned, 3DO is definitely going
to be the power machine of the future. 3DO mk2 blows away all
current machines, including the Jaguar, Saturn, PS-X, and maybe
even Ultra-64. 3DO's easy upgrade path will pay off, not only for
3DO, but for 3DO owners as well.
MORTAL KOMBAT 2 HiTS THE STREETS
**************=/\=**************
September 9th saw the release of one the largest games on this
years game calendar, with Acclaim/Midway's universal release of
Mortal Kombat 2. MK2 was released simultaneously on the GameGear,
Gameboy(!), Super Nintendo, and Genesis along with an extensive
advertising campaign. Australia, the US, and much of Europe
witnessed the familiar juxtaposition of screen-shots and live
actors across their TV screens trying to tempt players.
Everybody who has so far played MK2 (including me!) find that
the conversion has been excellent, retaining just about all
features of the arcade version. MK2 offers a lot more challenge and
variety than SSF2, making it a must for all beat 'em up fans. MK2
also puts shame to the original SNES/Genesis first edition (MK1),
which were released at about the same time last year - the amount
of changes that have taken place between MK1 and MK2 make it an
entirely different game (much as SF1 was a lot different to SF2).
This time, SNES fans have probably received the best version,
containing the full sound, and graphics from the arcade machine
without sacrificing the gameplay. This was the main complaint over
the conversion of MK1, suffering from several serious gameplay
problems, especially on the SNES. Genesis owners are also in for a
good conversion, though the game lacks some of the arcade detail
and colours, but pretty much plays the same.
Probably the best news for arcade purists was that MK2 marks a
new marketing direction by Nintendo. No longer will Nintendo
heavily censor games, and MK2 includes all of the blood, and all of
the fatalities in their entirety from the arcade. A menu option to
turn on and off the blood is also included for those wimps out
there, although the game will still retain a MA15 classification.
This move is to help beef up the image of Project Reality, where
Nintendo aims to reach later teenage, and adult audiences, as well
as the 10-16 year olds.
For those who are not familiar with the arcade machine, MK2
contains 12 varied characters, each with their own moves,
battle-screens, etc. There are also two hidden characters in the
game, which can be fought if you are good enough. Different to most
other fighting games, players can execute multiple moves, where the
timing of the move is equally important.
Mortal Kombat 2 will probably the last of the continuing Mortal
Kombat series to be released in such a universal way. Acclaim's
license with Midway is officially over once MK2 is released on home
systems, Midway taking up partnership with Nintendo. From
indications, Nintendo looks to have secured an exclusivity contract
with Midway, which means Nintendo will have a large say in what
Midway games will be released for which systems in future.
JAGUAR THE 10th!
******=/\=******
It couldn't really be argued that Jaguar owners have had
disappointment after disappointment after a promising release of
the machine late last year. So far there are only seven titles
available for the machine, a pretty bad record for such any machine
that has been out for more than 6+ months.
Hoping to sweeten the year slightly, Atari is planning a big end
in the last quarter. Along with the JaguarCD addon to be released,
Atari plans to release a further 15-20 titles by the end of the
year. This will bring the total to around 20-30 titles, but can we
still trust this figure?? Five of these will hit the shelves on the
10th October, when we will finally see the release of the long
awaited Alien Vs Predator, Club Drive, Doom, Kick Off 3, and Kasumi
Ninja. Whether this is enough to save the Jaguar is very
debatable, as the Jaguar will need a lot more games of this
standard to be a success.
OTHER NEWS
***=/\=***
- Prices on the 3DO (mk1) have also dropped recently to a more
reasonable $499, with some places offering up to 3 free titles with
each machine. For those who have been interested in upgrading to
the machine, it may still be wise to wait a further few months. New
models by Sanyo, Goldstar, and Samsung are all going to hit the
market, with a retail price sure to challenge Panasonic's 3DO
domination of 3DO market-share. When machines such as the PS-X,
32X, and Saturn hit the stores near the end of the year (or
beginning of next year at this stage), prices are sure to drop even
further.
- Alien Vs Predator is already in cartridge production, and will be
released later this month - for months now it has been one of the
most requested titles of the year. While initially release was
stated for some time in June, the game was pushed back several
months to make several improvements. A 3/4 finished version was
shown at the SCES, as reported in issue 4, but the good news for
Jag owners is the AvP is even _hotter_ than was shown back in July.
Texture mapping and lighting has been improved, along with the
finishing touches to the levels - play testers say that the game is
even more challenging, and better looking than the king of
three-dimensional shoot'em ups, Doom. Unfortunately, even Jaguar
owners are beginning to wonder, is this enough?
- Large video game retailers, Babbages, and Software Inc. have
decided to merge under the one company. While the two stores will
continue to be trade under their separate names, the partnership
aims to strengthen both retailers lead in the video game sales
market.
- AT&T has stalled its entry into the video game market for the
time being, placing on hold its own 3DO machine, which was planned
to include a built-in modem as standard. AT&T have indicated that
this is only while they continue to consider their options in the
video game market. The move is a bit of a mystery to most - maybe
AT&T didn't believe they could release a product at a suitable
price-tag for the market?
RUMOURS
**=/\=*
Again, remember that this section is nothing more than it
indicates, and simply rumours from other magazines, talk, media
sources and the internet newsgroups. It is up to you how seriously
you take these rumours.
- Atari's Jaguar voice-modem could have been dumped, due to a lack
of interest by the hardware manufacturer (AT&T) and faith in
profits to be made in this area. This would be a disappointment
to many Jaguar owners, as the voice-modem would have allowed
multiple players to play other Jaguar owners right across the
world.
COMMERCiAL ADVERTiSING
*********=/\=*********
OVER the last couple of months I have received a couple of requests for
advertising of a commercial type nature in Frontier. If you own, or are
part of a console retailing or mail order company, please contact me via
one of the methods mentioned at the end of the magazine if you wish to
organise an ad.
Frontier offers a great way to help promote and sell your product
through a potential audience of several thousand in many different
countries world-wide. Your ad may include borders, ascii logos, etc to
draw attention to your product or business, but must be under 300 words.
While readers may protest this as a form of commercialism that
Frontier has stayed to try clear of in the past, I don't consider it as
moving too much in this direction. The move is basically to help pay for
some of the games I buy or hire for review purposes, and in no way to
make a profit for myself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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? T R A D I N G ?? ??
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United States * Netherlands * Sweden * Belgium * Croatia
Exclusive worldwide distributors of the Super Wild Card and
Super Magic Drive systems
The Super Wild Card(tm) and Super Magic Drive(tm) for Super Nintendo(tm)
and Sega Genesis(tm) respectively allow users to:
* Develop their own games
* Use special cheat codes
* Backup cartridges onto 3.5" diskette, thus saving on the
general wear and tear of the original cartridge
Some of the other special features of the Super Wild Card and
Super Magic Drive include:
* DOS format disks (for development on MSDOS(tm) systems)
* Built in high density 3.5" disk drive
* 24mbit-32mbit (3-4meg) of high speed RAM
* Upgradeable
The RRP for the 24mbit unit is $449US. If you are interested in more
information on these systems, or in fact wish to purchase one or more of
these units, please contact Fairlight by one of the methods indicated.
Fairlight is also looking for exclusive distributors and re-sellers for
these and other exciting video game products!
In the United States 1-800-FAIRLIGHT
International +1-619-282-5311
Fax " 619-282-1780
Postal Fairlight Trading WorldWide, Inc.
6415 Reflection Drive, Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92124-3129 U.S.A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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ULTRA64 - WHAT CAN We ExPECT?
************=/\=*************
NOBODY could doubt that with the marketing and technical know how of
both Nintendo and Silicon Graphics behind the Ultra64, the machine
is going to be one of the hottest entertainment machines ever seen.
Not only will it include much the same, if not better,
specifications than either the Saturn, Jaguar, PlayStation, or any
other games console, but it will retail at a very affordable $200.
While all of these other machines may look very impressive, much of
these are still for those only with a deep pocket, with the
exception of the Jaguar (which has been largely unsucessful). With
the Ultra64, Nintendo is aiming the machine squarely at the 10-20
year old market, where the power of inexpensive 32 bit processing
has yet to make a real impression over 16 bit technology. Ultra64
is targeted to be the natural successor to the Super Nintendo, and
at a very comparable price to even existing 16 bit machines this
task seems quite achievable, and in a short period too.
Nintendo has more than a decade of experience behind them
when it comes to the video game market, and now well know what sells and
what will not. Millions in advertising, and other incentives will
be offered to the video game world as the system comes closer to
release. Come Christmas 1995, hundreds of thousands of families in
Western, and Asian countries around the world will be cramming for
the Ultra64, simply because of the prestige that the name Nintendo
has brought to the world of gaming.
While at this stage, much about the Ultra64 is still not known,
Frontier aims to uncover and speculate on what will likely, and
what probably won't be included in Nintendo's Killer. To make this
easier, the article has been broken down into several different
categories, covering different aspects of what we will see in the
Ultra64. How much of this will actually be in the final product
remains to be seen, but whatever happens, mid-1995 is drawing
faster every month.....
STORAGE
Nintendo has so far as deliberately stated that the Ultra64 will
not include CD-ROM for the reason that the format does not include
enough interactivity, and speed for the games Nintendo wants to
provide. This seems to be a bit of a hollow excuse, as CD-ROM is
rapidly approaching a very useable speed, as well as being a very
affordable format. CD's are not only cheaper to manufacture, but
are cheaper to package and distribute. Nintendo may in fact have a
less obvious interior motive in not using CD-ROM, which has more to
do with profits and control, rather than consideration for gamers.
If Nintendo went for CD-ROM, not only would 'non-official' games be
able to be released (being out of Nintendo's profits) quite easily
with todays CD-ROM development technology, but there would also be
the probability of unauthorised piracy of Ultra64 games. By going
for a less well utilised, but still quite useable (and fast)
standard, Nintendo will be able to continue a firm control on both
profits and distribution.
Whatever the real reasons, what Nintendo is likely to use
instead of CD-ROM is 'Flash ROMs'. For those who are unfamiliar
with the format, Flash ROM's are roughly credit sized cards which
can hold a large amount of data (but much less than CD) on an area
of approximately 10cm x 5cm. The standard flash-ROM card is an
uncompressed 20megabytes (160megabits), and data can be accessed at
a speed approaching microseconds per megabyte. More data (possibly
50%) more can also be stored with forms of compression. While this
provides a fair amount of storage space, it may limit the scope of
future U64 games, with only 1/27th the storage capacity of CD-ROM.
Since Ultra64 will largely rely on real-time texture mapping and
rendering (see graphics), this may be less of a problem. Long FMV
and pre-rendered animation sequences that players might be looking
forward to with the PlayStation, Saturn, and 3DO are what we are
not going to see on the Ultra64. When it comes down to it though,
flash-ROM's may be a quite flexible and decent substitute to CD's.
GAMES
Nintendo looks to be aiming the Ultra64 largely at the same market
that it has captured with the SNES, from ages 10-16. While Nintendo
appears to be shifting its strategy to a more open one with regards
to graphic violence, it doesn't seem likely that we are going to
see restricted (18 years+) on the U64, like we may on the
Playstation or 3DO. As the system price reflects, Ultra64 will be
mainly aimed at the family market, with games that will appeal to a
wide amount of people.
The type of games we are going to see will probably be mostly
action and simulation games that we have been used to on the SNES.
With a limited storage capacity, large adventure games or complex
RPG's with high quality 24bit graphics seem unlikely. Expect plenty
of space, shooting, driving, and fighting games though!
GRAPHICS
The Ultra64 will include an implementation of SGI's 'Reality'
engine, only seen in the most expensive of its work stations. The
Reality engine allows lightning-quick generation and rendering
(colouring, texture-mapping, lighting, etc) three-dimensional, as
well as two-dimensional objects in real time at a full 24 bits. The
advantage with real-time generation is only the textures are
required for the visuals, everything else is calculated
mathematically via software and hardware. This may make it
difficult for some 16 bit developers, but for those who can program
the machine well, the games will show the results. Truly realistic
and life-like real-time generation of game graphics is still a holy
grail for game developers, but it definitely seems possible in the
U64 with the world's most powerful graphics system at its core.
Resolution will be television quality, but will likely suffer from
the same squashed screen problem on PAL sets due to the annoying
differences in resolution between NTSC and PAL.
As stated in the news section, U64 looks like including some sort
of projection technology. What this will mean is that game images
will beamed direct from the Ultra64 itself onto your wall in your
home. This will make the Ultra64 both portable (not needing a TV to
play games), and also allow greater resolution than television
currently allows. How this will work in a lit room (who wants to
play all their games in the dark???) is hard to imagine, but
Nintendo seems to feel confident they have an answer. There will
probably be a standard television connection as well as the
projection window on the Ultra64's case.
SOUND
At the present moment, there isn't too much further that consoles
can go than pretty much crystal clear 44khz we are used to with
CD-ROM. Our ears are only capable of picking up a certain range
of frequencies and quality anyway, so to go much further is only
going to be pointless. Ultra64 will surely include CD-quality audio
which will be mostly generated on the fly by the U64's sound chip
during play. Three dimensional Dolby technology has also been
licensed by Nintendo to use on the machine, meaning that music and
sound effects will appear to come from different angles, giving a
tremendous feeling of realism. Along with realistic sounding music,
sound effects and sampled speech will also be possible in small
numbers, again limited only by the storage capacity. The Ultra64
plugged into your stereo and playing a game such as Killer Instinct
should really be an experience!
DEVELOPMENT
Development for Ultra64 games will be, and is being done on Silicon
Graphics work stations such as the $100,000 Onyx^2 and $20,000 Indy
work stations. Even though the machine is long way from production,
plenty of visuals and game design can still be done before
developers even see a working machine. Hopefully developers won't
forget it is the gameplay itself that matters most with the Ultra64
(or any console in fact), and not just go for rendered graphics
with not much else. Animation and rendering packages such as Alias
and SoftImage are used to draw the majority of graphics for Ultra64
games, which should be easily ported with little loss in quality to
U64. Because the graphics engines in many of SGI's machines will be
in many cases almost identical to the Ultra64, what you see being
illustrated throughout Edge magazine (amongst others) is largely
what you will see in the final product.
EXPANDABILITY/OUTPUT
To keep the machine's technology up to date, the Ultra64 should
include some sort of expansion port to allow the addition of more
advanced hardware later on (such as CD-ROM). Virtual Reality
devices, extra peripherals, light guns, and other technologies will
be a natural step for such powerful three-dimensional rendering on
board the U64
While Nintendo has probably not opted to include CD-ROM storage as
standard on the Ultra64, that doesn't mean that the machine
necessarily has to be locked out of the CD-ROM medium altogether.
Nintendo may opt to take a similar approach to the Jaguar, by
releasing the straight machine at $200, and then charging an extra
$200 or so for a CD-ROM addon to provide better FMV, etc. If a
CD-ROM addon _is_ to be released for the Ultra64, it will not be
until late 1995 at best. The Ultra64 with the storage capacity of
CD-ROM will truly be an ultimate gaming machine
The Ultra64 may also include some sort of cartridge save system,
much as the Playstation and Saturn will include. This will allow
games to store their save/position data on one cartridge, rather
than including a battery backup on each cartridge (which adds to
the price of each game).
CONCLUSION
The Ultra64 will include most of the same technology that is being
implemented in other 32bit consoles, and probably will not stand
out too much more on first looks that the Saturn, 3DO, etc. The 64
bit processor will make a bit of a difference, but as has been
illustrated with the Jaguar Vs 3DO debate, when it comes to games,
the jump in processing power doesn't really effect the game itself.
Where the Ultra64 will really excel is in the graphics department,
where the 'Reality' engine created by Silicon Graphics will allow
blindingly fast real-time texture mapping and light sourcing with
ease. With the millions that Nintendo and Silicon Graphics is
spending to make the U64 a success, it seems almost impossible that
the machine can fail come 1995. As more details come to hand,
Frontier will definitely be publishing them.......
THE COMPLETE LIST OF UPCOMiNG 3DO SOFTWARE AND HARDWARe
*************************=/\=**************************
SOFTWARE support for the 3DO is continuing to grown with the
increased sales of 3DO sales in the United States and Japan. An
estimated 10,000 3DO units are being sold each month, and look sure
to better Trip Hawkin's estimate of 50,000 sold by the end of the
year. Here is a fairly complete chronological listing of all the
software and hardware that will be released in the next 6 months.
Thanks go to Michael Delaney for compiling this list.
TITLE PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE
Kingdom: Far Reaches Interplay September
Return Fire Silent Soft September
Tetsujin Panasonic September
VR Stalker Morpheus September
Waialae Country Club Golf Panasonic September
ABS Psygnosis September 15th
Burning Soldier Panasonic September 15th
Guardian War Panasonic September 15th
Lost Files of Shirlock Holmes Electronic Arts September 23rd
Theme Park Electronic Arts September 23rd
Rise of the Robots Absolute Entertainment September 30th
Mahjong ASCII Late September
Robinson's Requiem ReadySoft Late September
Shadow Tribecca Late September
3D Atlas Electronic Arts October
Alone in the Dark 2 Interplay October
Bios Fear ASG Technologies October 24th
Crime Patrol American Laser Games October
Demolition Man Virgin October
FIFA Soccer Electronic Arts October
I-Jam Paramount October
PaTank PF Falls October
Santa Fe Trail American Laser Games October
Space Ace ReadySoft October
Trance Mission ???? October
Off-World Interceptor Crystal Dynamics Late October
Virtuoso 3DO November
SSF2 Turbo Capcom November
Quarantine GameTek November
Creature Shock Virgin November
Need for Speed Electronic Arts November
11th Hour (T7G2) Virgin November
Dragon's Lair 2 ReadySoft November
Family Fued GameTek November
World Cup Golf US Gold November
Flashback US Gold November
Dino Blaze Virgin November 15th
GEX Gecko Crystal Dynamics Late November
?????? Tetragon December
Ballz PF Falls December
Clay Fighter II Interplay December
Conquered Kingdoms QQP 4th Qrtr 1994
DinoPark Tycoon MECC December
Dragon's Lair (MPEG) ReadySoft December
Duelin' Firemen Run and Gun December
Flying Nightmares Domark December
Jammit Basketball GTE December
Galactic Casino VideoactV December
InteractV Aerobics VideoactV December
Iron Man Panasonic December
LoadStar Rocket Science December
Lost Vikings Interplay December
Plumbers don't wear ties JC December
Road Rash (MPEG) Electronic Arts December
Samurai Showdown Crystal Dynamics December
Star Trek : TNG Spectrum Holobyte December
Star Wars Chess Software Toolworks December
Terminator vs Robocop Virgin December
Tigernauts VideoactV December
Twisted 2 3DO December
Yu Yu Hakusyo Tomy December
PO'ed Any Channel Late December
????? (sports) Electronic Arts 4th Qrtr 1994
Akira TH*Q 4th Qrtr 1994
Alien Trilogy Acclaim 4th Qrtr 1994
Blood Bath Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
Chaos Control Infogames 4th Qrtr 1994
C.I.T.Y 2000 ?????? 4th Qrtr 1994
Cool Knight ReadySoft 4th Qrtr 1994
Cool Spot Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
ESPN Baseball -Pitching Intellimedia 4th Qrtr 1994
ESPN Football -Reciever Intellimedia 4th Qrtr 1994
ESPN Football -Quarterback Intellimedia 4th Qrtr 1994
ESPN Let's Play Baseball Intellimedia 4th Qrtr 1994
ESPN Let's Play Tennis Intellimedia 4th Qrtr 1994
Galaxian 3 Namco 4th Qrtr 1994
Gatorface ???? 4th Qrtr 1994
Ground Zero Texas Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
Inspector Danger's Crime Quiz Digital Productions 4th Qrtr 1994
Jimmy Connors Tennis UBIsoft 4th Qrtr 1994
LawnMower Man Sony 4th Qrtr 1994
Links Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
Lost Eden Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
Maelstrom ReadySoft 4th Qrtr 1994
Magic Carpet Bullfrog 4th Qrtr 1994
Meiko Digital Productions Inc. 4th Qrtr 1994
Multimedia Travel Guides Frommer 4th Qrtr 1994
Myst Sony 4th Qrtr 1994
Heart of Darkness Virgin 4th Qrtr 1994
NCAA Basketball Software Toolworks 4th Qrtr 1994
NHL Hockey Electronic Arts 4th Qrtr 1994
Nobunaga's Ambition Koei 4th Qrtr 1994
Primeval Sony 4th Qrtr 1994
Rebel Assault Software Toolworks 4th Qrtr 1994
Rock, Rap 'N Roll 2 Paramount 4th Qrtr 1994
SeaWolf SSN-21 Electronic Arts 4th Qrtr 1994
Scorched Earth Electronic Arts 4th Qrtr 1994
Solvalou Namco 4th Qrtr 1994
Space Pirates American Laser Games 4th Qrtr 1994
Star Trek: TNG Manual Paramount 4th Qrtr 1994
TFX Ocean 4th Qrtr 1994
Tital Wave ???? 4th Qrtr 1994
Touche US Gold 4th Qrtr 1994
Suchi Pai Mahjong Jaleco 4th Qrtr 1994
Syndicate Plus Bullfrog 4th Qrtr 1994
Wing Commander III Origin 4th Qrtr 1994
Whole Dog Almanac Digital Productions Inc. 4th Qrtr 1994
Winning Post Koei 4th Qrtr 1994
Wizard of Oz ???? 4th Qrtr 1994
Mad Dog McCree (MPEG) American Laser Games 1st Qrtr 1995
Return to Zork Activision 1st Qrtr 1995
Station Invasion 3DO 1st Qrtr 1995
Time 2 Die 3DO 1st Qrtr 1995
Scavenger 4 Psygnosis January 1995
Hognose & Booger ASG Technologies February 1995
Rock & Roll Racing Interplay February 1995
Cyberia Interplay March 1995
????? (AD&D RPG) SSI 2nd Qrtr 1995
Blustar (Dolphin RPG) Magnetic Interactive 2nd Qrtr 1995
Policenauts Konami 2nd Qrtr 1995
Sangokusi Koei 2nd Qrtr 1995
Solar Moon Station Bandai 2nd Qrtr 1995
Ultraman Virgin 2nd Qrtr 1995
Black Death Mask Panasonic 1995
Dragon Knight III Megatech 1995
Falcon 3DO Spectrum Holobyte 1995
Jack Sprite vs The Chrimson Ghost PF Falls 1995
Power Slide Elite 1995
Shoot-Out at Old Tuson American Laser Games 1995
Space Hulk Electronic Arts 1995
Who shot Johnny Rock? (MPEG) American Laser Games 1995
3D Adventures Park Place On Hold
3D Football Park Place On Hold
Aces Over Europe Dynamix/Sierra On Hold
Humans GameTek On Hold
Peter Pan Electronic Arts On Hold
PGA Tour Golf Electronic Arts On Hold
ShadowCaster Origin On Hold
Universal Studios Orbital MCA On Hold
World Builders Inc. Electronic Arts On Hold
?????? (fighting) GTE TBA
?????? (action) GTE TBA
?????? (RPG's) New World Computing TBA
?????? (action) Capcom TBA
?????? (sports) Accolade TBA
Art Treasures of Russia Round Book TBA
Battledrome Dynamix/Sierra TBA
Demo CD 3 Panasonic TBA
Doom - Evil Unleashed Electronic Arts TBA
In-Line Skate Hockey GTE TBA
Man With Underwater Eye's Round Book TBA
Mortal Kombat 2 Acclaim TBA
NBA Jam Acclaim TBA
Ridge Racer Namco TBA
Sampler Disc Vivid Interactive TBA
Tommy Round Book TBA
X-Wing Software Toolworks TBA
HARDWARE
Creative Lab's PC 3DO Blaster Card October
Sanyo 3DO October
Flight Stick Pro 4th Qrtr 1994
FZ-FV1 Video CD 4th Qrtr 1994
Logitec Mouse 4th Qrtr 1994
Toshiba Portable 3DO (for cars!) 4th Qrtr 1994
Goldstar 3DO 1st Qrtr 1995
Samsung 3DO 1st Qrtr 1995
Memory Upgrade (for FZ0) 1st Qrtr 1995
Virtual Reality Glasses 1995
3DO-2 expansion board December 1995
AT&T 3DO w/ modem On Hold
AT&T VoiceSpan Modem for FZ0-1 On Hold
MORTAL KOMBAT 2 - THE MOVES!
************=/\=************
MORTAL Kombat 2, like the first edition (MK1) has little in the way
of a complete move listing for the game in the manual. At best the
manual just gives you the basic listing, and leaves the rest of the
discovery up to you. Thanks to Frontier, now rather than spending
hours fiddling just to find that one fatality, you can now refer to
this (almost) complete list!
If you find any further moves, contact Frontier with the exact
key combination(s) so other MK2 players can benefit from the same
move in future issues. You might even want to cut this out and
print a copy to have on hand. Impress your friends....or just to
show your superiority, beat the hell out of them! While several of
these moves will take several minutes of trial to pull them off,
even _with_ the correct combination, most of them are worth the
wait, especially with the blood mode turned on :) Thanks to Jarrod
Day for providing the moves for this list.
STANDARD MOVES
--------------
Face Punch - High Punch CLOSE COMBAT (stand next to enemy)
Body Punch - Low Punch Speciality - High Punch
Face kick - High Kick Throw - Low Punch
Body Kick - Low Kick Knee - High or Low Kick
UpperCut - Down+High Punch BLOCKS
Crouch Punch - Down+Low Punch Attack Block - Block or down, Down+block
Crouch Kick - Down+High Kick Throw Block - Down+back or Down+back+block
Ankle Kick - Down+Low Kick
RoundHouse - Back+High
Kick Trip - Back+Low Kick
AIR ATTACKS
Jump Kick - Jump and then high or low kick
Jump Punch - Jump and jigh or low punch
Hop Kick - Jump up towards enemy and kick
Hop Punch - Jump up towards enemy and punch
Back Kick - Jump over enemy, and kick before hitting the ground
CHARACTER MOVES
---------------
LIU KANG Double elbow - high Punch (stand next to enemy)
Fireball - forward, forward, High Punch
Low Fireball - forward, forward, Low Punch
Flying Kick - forward, forward, High Kick
Bicycle Kick - low kick (hold for several seconds) then
let go
Pit - back, forward, forward, Low Kick
Babality - down, down, forward, back, low kick
Friendship - forward, back, back, back, low kick
Fatality 1 - down, forward, back, back, high kick
Fatality 2 - 360 deg. away
KUNG LAO Head - high punch (stand close)
Teleport - down, up, down (quickly)
Flying Kick - down+high kick (in air)
Tornado - (while holding block), up, up, low kick
Pit - forward, forward, forward, high punch
Babality - back, back, forward, forward, high kick
Friendship - back, back, back, down, high kick
Fatality 1 - forward, forward, forward, low kick
Fatality 2 - (while holding low punch), back, forward
(release punch button). Control the hat for better
effect!
JOHNNY CAGE Low jab - high punch (near enemy)
Axe Kick - high or low kick (near enemy)
Low bolt - 180deg. towards, low punch
High bolt - 180deg. away, high punch
Uppercut - back, down, back, high punch
Shadow Kick - back, forward, low kick
Ball breaker - low punch+block
Pit - down, down, down, high kick
Babality - back, back, back, high kick
Friendship - down, down, down, down, high kick
Fatality 1 - down, down, forward, forward, low punch
Fatality 2 - forward, forward, down, up
REPTILE BackHand - high punch (next to enemy)
Acid Spit - forward, forward, high punch
Slide - back+low punch+block+low kick
Forceball - back, back, high punch+low punch
Invisible - (while holding block), up, up, down, high
punch
Pit - down, forward, forward, block
Babality - down, back, back, low kick
Friendship - back, back, down, low kick
Fatality 1 - back, back, down, low punch
Fatality 2 - forward, forward, down, high kick
SUB ZERO BackHand - High punch
IceBall - 90deg. towards enemy, low punch
Freeze - 90deg. away from enemy, low punch
Slide - back+low punch+block+low kick
Pit - down, forward, forward, block
Babality - down, back, back, high kick
Friendship - back, back, down, high kick
Fatality 1 - forward, forward, down, high kick
Fatality 2 - (hold low punch), back, back, down, forward,
(release)
SHANG TSUNG Flaming skull - back, back, high punch
Two skulls - back, back, forward, high punch
Three skulls - back, back, forward, forward, high punch
Liu Kang - back, forward, forward, block
Kung Lao - back, down, back, high kick
Johnny Cage - back, back, down, low punch
Reptile - (while holding block), up, down, high punch
Sub Zero - forward, down, forward, high punch
Kitana - block, block, block (quickly)
Mileena - high punch (hold for 2 seconds), (release)
Baraka - down, down, low kick
Scorpion - (while holding block), up, up
Raiden - down, back, forward, low kick
Pit - (while holding block), down, down, up, down
Babality - back, forward, down, high kick
Friendship - back, back, down, forward, high kick
Fatality 1 - high kick (hold for 2 seconds), (then
release)
Fatality 2 - (while holding block), up, down, up, low kick
Fatality 3 - low punch (hold for 30 seconds), (then
release)
KiTANA Elbow - high punch (next to enemy)
Fan hit - back+high punch
Fan throw - forward, forward, high punch+low punch
Fan lift - back, back, back, high punch
Air Punch - 90deg. away, high punch
Pit - forward, down, forward, high kick
Babality - down, down, down, low kick
Friendship - down, down, down, up, low kick
Fatality 1 - (hold low kick), forward, forward, down, forward
Fatality 2 - block, block, block (quickly), high kick
JAX Kinghit - high punch (near enemy)
Ground hit - low kick (hold for 3 seconds), (then release)
Grab - forward, forward, low punch
Slam - throw enemy, and then tap high punch
Energy Wave - 90deg. away, high kick
Back Breaker - block (in air)
Pit - up, up, down, low kick
Babality - down, up, down, up, low kick
Friendship - down, down, up, up, low kick
Fatality 1 - (while holding low punch), forward, forward,
forward, (release)
Fatality 2 - block, block, block, block (quickly), low
punch
MiLEENA Elbow - high punch (near enemy)
Teleport kick - forward, forward, low kick
Roll - back, back, down, high kick
Sai Throw - High punch (for 2 seconds), (then release)
Pit - forward, down, forward, low kick
Babality - down, down, down, high kick
Friendship - down, down, down, up, high kick
Fatality 1 - forward, back, forward, low punch
Fatality 2 - high kick (for 2 seconds), (then release)
BARAKA Backhand - high punch (near enemy)
DoubleKick - high kick, high kick (quickly, near enemy)
Blade hit - back+high punch
Blade swish - back, back, back, low punch
Blue bolt - 90deg. away, high punch
Pit - forward, forward, down, high kick
Babality - forward, forward, forward, high kick
Friendship - (while holding block), up, forward, forward,
high kick
Fatality 1 - (while holding block), back, back, back,
back, high punch
Fatality 2 - back, forward, down, forward, low punch
SCORPiON Backhand - high punch (near enemy)
Spear - back, back, low punch
Teleport punch - 90deg. away, high punch
Grab leg - 90deg, away, low kick
Air throw - Block (in air)
Pit - down, forward, forward, block
Babality - down, back, back, high kick
Friendship - back, back, down, high kick
Fatality 1 - (while holding block), up, up, high kick
Fatality 2 - (while holding high punch), down, forward,
forward, forward, (then release)
RAiDEN Small Uppercut - high punch (near enemy)
Body throw - back, back, forward
Lighting - 90deg. towards, low punch
Teleport - down, up (quickly)
Electrocute - high punch (hold for 4 seconds, near
enemy), (then release)
Pit - (while holding block), up, up, up, high punch
Babality - down, back, forward, high kick
Fatality 1 - low kick (hold for 6 seconds), (then release)
Fatality 2 - high punch (hold for 8 seconds), (then
release)
OTHER
-----
On the 'Dead Pool' stage, hold Low Punch and Low Kick and then
uppercut them into the pool to eat the flesh from their bones!
??????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????? ??????????????? ?????
?? ???? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??
?? ????????????? ?????????? ???? ????
???????????? ????? ???????????????? ????
?????????????????????????????????????????????
IF you wish to express an opinion in an editorial style article, please
let me know. Frontier aims to be a focus point for intelligent debate on
the console industry so you should be willing to backup your opinions
from readers. If you strongly agree or disagree on an editorial,
consider writing one of your own with some opposing or contrasting
opinions.
IS THE UPCOMiNG CONSOLE WAR REALLY GOOD oR BAD?
**********************=/\=*********************
IT wasn't too long ago that gamers really had only two choices,
either to go for the incredibly popular 8bit Nintendo, or go for
the less popular, but slightly more powerful Master System. Only
five years ago these were the main forces in the video games race
and things were relatively simple. Even two years ago the choice
was still simple, game players either went for the sleek and
impressive SNES, or the Genesis - even many of the same games were
released on both systems, making the decision not so important. Now
things have changed dramatically with the introduction of a stack
of new 32 bit (or better) consoles, each having one or more
advantages over the others. Not only do they cost much more than
five years ago, they are also less likely to remain the long life
time that was once enjoyed by the 8 bit machines.
No longer is it a simple choice of what game you wanted to play,
but also a decision on the lasting nature, and number of games that
are likely to be released for the system before it becomes inferior
to something else. Now this can be good and bad news for gamers -
resources, and different publishers are split across many systems,
but there is also a lot more to choose from. The main down side to
all of this is that due to the strong competition, console
companies are always having to bring out some new hardware 'better'
than their opposition to stay ahead, and retain a reasonable share
of the market. The life-span of such consoles is therefore
decreasing to an estimated rate of only 2-3 years, not exactly what
you want to hear after splashing out $400 or so for the 'latest' in
90's hardware.
Already we are seeing plans for the 3DO-2, the Jaguar-2,
JaguarCD, and even reported add ons for machines such as the Saturn
and PS-X. Some of these machines are not even _released_ yet and we
are hearing "hey, if you think this is good, wait for our _next_
model". While the new hardware might be quite powerful, without a
steady base of software and games for the system, the system is
never going to live up to its full potential. If video game
companies are busy trying to squeeze the last dollar out of their
customers, at least we will see good _quality_ games, rather than
games that are just released to try and sell a few more machines.
Nintendo has largely taken this step with its now ageing SNES
machine, by mid-1995 it will be four years since the initial
release of the machine, but the number of decent titles is still
quite strong, and in fact growing. Earlier on we saw titles that
really were (not exaggerating either) quite pathetic, just released
to try and build a bigger software base for the machine so they
could say "look, we've got XXX games on our machine, which is XXX
more than our competitor(s)". Now Nintendo (and to extent Sega with
their Saturn) is beginning to realise, while obviously not stating
so, that it _is_ going to face stiff opposition until the release
of their machine, some months after the release of the other
companies 32 bit 'wonders'. We are seeing more and more decent 16
bit games, that a larger number are in fact almost _worth_ the flat
$80 Nintendo is charging for them. Prices on these, and older games
are also dropping, which means that players can afford much more
games than if they splashed out with $300+ on a new system with
only a few games available.
While Sega, Nintendo, 3DO, and everybody else is designing these
consoles they are ultimately creating better machines when they
finally come around to release. If they release something that is
poor hardware wise, it will not sell, which can be disastrous for
the company(s) involved. That is why we have constantly seen the
hush-hush, and changing specifications of many of these machines,
to tell the truth about how the project is going is often a
disastrous move.
The main winner of the hardware war is ultimately going to be the
consumer who takes the time to consider which system they want to
stick with. In several ways the console war is both good and bad,
and opinions vary greatly between who you speak too. My opinion is
that while the companies are spending multi-millions trying to
build the latest machines, _you_ are the only one who can
ultimately say which machine you think _you_ like. The war means
greater games available, better quality games available, and above
all better hardware for the consumer. Nothing is forced upon the
video gamer, persuaded heavily maybe :) but not forced. If you take
the time to consider which system(s) look to provide the best games
currently, and in the near-future, you are ultimately going to be
the ones who can have the last laugh on the video game giants......
?????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????? ?????????????? ????????????
?? ???????? ?? ??????????? ?? ?????????
???????????? ?? ???????????? ?? ? ?????????
????? ???????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????
THE review section is not an integral part of Frontier, though an
important one. What is the use of talk on consoles, without reviews to
assess the quality of games that are available? If you wish to write
reviews for Frontier for any console, please check out the section: How
- YOU* too can help out with Frontier. While reviews of new games are
preferred, reviews of games up to _around_ 6 months old will be
published.
For those who are just wanting to throw a few words together (say
100-300) on a particular game, Frontier now includes a "Mini Review"
section for these types of reviews (see after the main reviews). This
should hopefully expand the number of reviews that we get in Frontier,
as often people don't have that much time to throw together a full
review. Full reviews will be preferred and remain a part of Frontier, but
if you don't want to take the time then this is good alternative. Should
only take maybe 10-20 minutes of your time, so even if you've only
played the game for a short while, get a "mini" review into Frontier
ASAP!
Format for these mini reviews are pretty much open (include any
details that you like!), but try and include at least an overall
percentage - to tell the truth, often that is all that people look at
anyway.
SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2
*********=/\=*********
.\ By Cyphron (cyphron@netcom.com)
TYPE ................ Street Fighting
FORMAT .............. Capcom
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER . Capcom
RELEASE ............. July 1994
PRICE ............... $70
SIZE ................ 32mbit/4 mbyte
LEVELS .............. 12 playfields
DIFFICULTY .......... Variable
PLAYERS ............. 1/2/simultaneous
EXTRA INFO .......... n/a
Have you ever heard the phrase "milking the cow"? Capcom probably
doesn't, and no, they're not only milking the cow, they're milking
it until it bleeds! Capcom has managed to put together four new
characters (for a total of 12), changed a couple of moves, added a
couple, slap on "SUPER" and voila, a game that sells!
KILLER SOUNDS (Yeah, kill me please!)
This game really has exploit everything the SNES has to offer and
it still comes off short in the sound and graphics department. The
"Round #, FIGHT!" is gone, although after a while of playing I
didn't really mind. Capcom claimed that it was because of the
shortage of ROM space, but I think it's because of the limited 64k
area for sounds in the SNES. Dee Jay lost his "Max Out!" voice when
he does his, well, Max Out! That's really too bad, because all the
other characters retained their original voices, albeit a bit bad.
Guile's voice is the same as the announcer! Boy, talk about
recycling! Okay, gripes aside, I'd say the sound is terrific for an
SNES game. How can I compare it to the arcade with its Q-Sound chip
and superior processors. But the music, I can't really complain.
Some of the stages have music that's quite good, except for Ken's
stage, which I think SF2 Turbo did better. However, the music
seemed "turned down" so you really need to hook up the SVHS cable
and turn on STEREO to really appreciate it.
KILLER GRAPHICS (Well, maybe not)
The BACKGROUND has got to be the best part of the game and it is
definitely the best of all the SFII carts for the SNES. There are
lots of animation and background scrolling for most or all of the
stages. (Although how come the moon moves with the clouds in Ryu's
stage? DUH!) The characters and background isn't as highly defined
as the arcade but then again, is anything as good as the arcade?
(READ: 3DO) A lot of frames are missing, (which translates to
missing moves) and you'll notice it immediately during the opening
cartoons. Overall, not a bad cut-and-paste job from Capcom.
SFII PLAYABILITY (What more can you ask?)
It's Street Fighter 2! 'Nuff said. The computer is rather easy to
beat with Ryu or Ken on any level because the computer doesn't
cheat as much. But when you start using other characters, the
bosses will combo you to death, literally! Well, it's probably
'cuz I suck at other characters! ;-P FUN FACTOR It's Street Fighter
2! 'Nuff said. Actually, after awhile, it can be a bit boring...
OTHER STUFF
The endings are mostly like the arcade except some have pictures
missing. There are an abundant of voices (not enough ROM, hah!) on
the game and lots of options like VERSUS mode, TOURNAMENT mode, etc.
What happened to Balrog's ending? He lost one picture (out of his
two) and he lost the two babes sitting next to him, ARGGHHH! While
I'm at it, the blood in the VS are now pink, and well, lets just
say, THERE IS NO BLOOD!!! Nintendo strikes again... And if you
think this game only has the 4 new characters, think again, because
the bosses have TONS of new moves or rather new animation which
would make playing them fun. Bison can be a real killer if you know
how to use him. And to most of you who are wondering if they have
SSF2 Turbo in the game, sorry to pop your bubble, but NO. Although
you do have Turbo speed adjustment. (big deal)
SHOULD I BUY IT?
If you don't have Street Fighter 2 then definitely. If you have
Street Fighter 2 then definitely. (Sorry, I'm an SF fan). But if
you aren't into Street Fighting games, then by all means, don't!
Although I can't see why you aren't a fan...
Final analysis
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
GRAPH SCORE
Sound effects |******************************** 80%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Music |********************************** 85%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Sprites |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Backgrounds |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Playability |*************************************** 97%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
IQ factor |********************************** 85%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Fun factor |************************************ 90%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Overall graphics |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
OVERALL |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Percentage % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Extra Comments
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
SOUND FX : Where's da bass?!?
MUSIC : Souped up old SF2 music
SPRITES : Nice but not smooth enough
BACKGROUNDS : Extremely good BG
PLAYABILITY : Need I say more?
IQ. FACTOR : Good against some, suck against Ryu
FUN FACTOR : Well, with 2 players. Otherwise...
OVERALL GFX : Good
OVERALL : Excellent in most departments
IMPRESSIONS : Met my expectations.
CONVERSION : 75% as good as the arcade
KEN GRIFFEY JR. PRESENTS MAJOR LEAUGE BASEBALL
********************=/\=**********************
.\ Stan Olson (solso@prairienet.org)
TYPE ................ Sports
FORMAT .............. SNES
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER . Nintendo/Software Creations
RELEASE ............. April 1994
PRICE ............... $49.95
SIZE ................ 16 megabit
LEVELS .............. ???
DIFFICULTY .......... Easy to Hard (depends on auto-fielding)
PLAYERS ............. One/two simultaneous
EXTRA INFO .......... n/a
Over the last 2 years, game programmers and baseball fans have
looked at the baseball games for the SNES and decided it was time
to stop messing around and develop a realistic baseball game.
There are so many features in Ken Griffey Jr. MLB, I don't know
where to get started! The AI of the game is unreal. Instead of the
computer waiting after the ball has past them, they go for the
ball as soon as it is hit, jumping, diving, whatever they have to
do to help their team win the game. In other games I have played,
the realism wasn't there. Either the ball didn't go fast enough,
the players didn't run right, or the computer didn't know what a
baseball was! In Ken Griffey Jr. MLB, all of the realism is there.
If a player hits a deep drive to center field and it looks like it
will just barely go over the wall, you can climb the wall and try
to catch the ball. Another great feature is you can play in all 28
stadiums in Ken Griffey Jr. MLB. The field is realistic like the
real thing: astro-turf or grass, the color of the wall, the
distances to the wall, etc. Another cool feature is the auto-
fielding. This option controls your fielders so you don't really
have to worry about fielding. You can also turn on manage only
option to just act as the manager.
There are 4 different choices on Ken Griffey Jr. MLB. The first
is the single game option. Using 1 or 2 players you can pick any
team to play and any stadium to play in. The second is the all-
star option. This allows you either to play the all-star game
or lets you participate in the homerun derby. The third option
is the world series. Here you can play in the world series
without having to play a full season. The last option is the
full season option. You can choose between a 26, 78, or 162
game season. In the 162 game season you get to play the all-star
game in the middle of the season.
There are some minor flaws that I have seen in the game. There
should be more sound effects. I don't know if they ran out of
room or just plain overlooked it, but there should have been more.
Another little thing is there are no errors, whether you have
auto-fielding on or off. Also, they should have gotten the
MLBPA license instead of just the MLB. They probably just got the
MLB license to keep the price low. I also think they could have
added a feature to let you scroll around inside of the stadium.
They went to a lot of trouble to make the parks and too bad
you can't just look at them without having to hit a homerun!!
Overall, Ken Griffey Jr. MLB is a great realistic baseball game
that needs little improvement. At $49.95 retail and at many
stores for $39, this game is a great buy!
Final analysis
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
GRAPH SCORE
Sound effects |******************** 50%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Music |********************************** 85%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Sprites |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Backgrounds |************************************** 95%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Playability |************************************ 90%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
IQ factor |******************** 50%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Fun factor |************************************ 90%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Overall graphics |************************************ 90%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
OVERALL |********************************** 85%
+___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I.
Percentage % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Extra Comments
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
SOUND FX : Nothing too spectacular, needs much more.
MUSIC : Great music for the right moments.
SPRITES : Big and animated. They look realistic.
BACKGROUNDS : The stadiums are great and match the real ones.
PLAYABILITY : Pretty good once you get used to it.
IQ. FACTOR : A bit of skill is required
FUN FACTOR : Lots of it for a long time!
OVERALL GFX : Excellent!
OVERALL : Great! Will be pretty hard to beat!
IMPRESSIONS : Great quality and animation. Will have you playing for
hours!!
CONVERSION : n/a
INTEREST FACTOR : 90% - This games has lots of features to keep you
interested a long time!!
DIFFICULTY : Easy to medium, depends on skill at the game and/or if
you have auto-fielding on or what team you are playing!
WOULD I BUY THE GAME : Well of course!! The rental stores can't keep
it in stock long enough just to rent it!
OVERALL : It's one of the best baseball games available for the SNES.
It will be hard to match it. It's a very realistic and animated game.
MiNi REVIEWS!
*****=/\=****
Game : Paladin's Quest
Reviewed by : Bob Anderson (randers@mswisard.kla.com)
Publisher : Enix
Format : SNES
Type : Role Playing
Paladin's Quest is a pretty cool RPG from ENIX, who makes the
Dragon Warrior series. Some people object to their kind of
cartoonish characters, but I found this game extremely satisfying.
The story is this: you are an apprentice magician, or spiritualist,
who is dared by a friend to enter a tower in your town. Of course,
you cannot refuse (maybe he DOUBLE-dared you) and you enter the
tower, fight a few baddies and discover at the top.......a button.
Of course, you push it (you get double-DOG-dared ) and activate
the ancient machine DAL GREN. Well, you are knocked unconscious
after this, and when you come to, everything in your town has been
incinerated and everyone has been killed, save the elder who was
training you.
Now it's up to you to save the world, of course.
This is a very satisfying game with an EXCELLENT story. The story
unfolds by bits; it's a somber-themed apocalyptic story but it's
hopeful and funny, too. You have two main characters and then you
meet many others who come and go during the story. The music is
also very good, sometimes bright and upbeat, and often urgent and
demanding. It does what it should; it sets the tone for the action
without being overbearing.
Another neat thing about this is the user interface, which makes it
very easy to select your next move or action without going through
the sometimes clunky, multi-level, menu-based interfaces in other
RPGs. Also, you can make your selections and play the game with one
hand, leaving the other free for mapping (or whacking off.)
My only complaint about this game was that it was too short. Great
game - if you like RPGs, you should definitely play it!
????? The Cheater's ??????
????????????????????
?? ???????? ?? ??
?? ???????? ?? ??
?????????????????? ?????
??????????????????????????
FRONTIER hopes to include a variety of different cheats, hints,
solutions, etc for systems and games of all different types. The aim is
to produce new information that has not been published before, though
this of course cannot always be guaranteed. If you have discovered a
secret level, willing to contribute some accurate playing hints, just
finished a game and are willing to produce a solution, or for that
matter anything that will help out gamers, Frontier is after them!
- For all Game Genie owners, here is an internet service you will
probably find invaluable for finding codes to all of those games
that you became stuck on. To learn how to use the service, email
to game-genie-serv@nvc.cc.ca.us with no subject line. In the
first line of your message, type:
send help
index
quit
This will send you a list of all the games which have Genie Codes
on the server, as well as tell you how you can get be sent the
individual codes via email! Very useful for Genie owners :)
Thanks to Stan Olson for mentioning this great service.
- Ken Griffey JR Major League Baseball, SNES (Game Genie)
DFC3 170F 1 ball and you walk
D4C3 170F 2 balls and you walk
CBB3 1D2D Can't walk a player
DFCE 1F0F 1 strike and you're out
D4CE 1F0F 2 strikes and you're out
C2BE 179D Can't strike out
DF27 CFA4 Invisible baserunners
D4C3 170F 2 outs and whole team is out
C2A2 4D94 + C2AA 47B4 No outs except strike outs
C28A-3FA7 + CBB0-4797 + C283-34D7 Computer can't score
- Super Street Fighter 2, SNES (Pro Action Replay)
7E8E 5900 So you can use the following codes (must enter this one)
7E00 F014 Super Turbo speed!
7E05 3706 Cause fireballs to appear with every special move (with Ryu)
7E05 DA0x Change character (use different values of x)
7E08 110x Change 2nd character (the above is for player 1)
7E08 2A00 Do special moves while jumping (player 2)
7E05 31B0 Unlimited energy for player 2
7E07 71B0 Unlimited energy for player 1
7E06 A008 Instant sonic boom (no need to charge up) for player 1
7E08 E008 Instant sonic boom (no need to charge up) for player 2
7E06 B808 Instant flash kick (no need to charge up) for player 1
7E08 F808 Instant flash kick (no need to charge up) for player 2
- Wolfenstein, Jaguar (built in)
For a music test, press the hash (#) key while the spinning sphere
is displayed. To exit, press * and # together
For a level select, turn the machine off and then on again. On the
menu screen, move to the 'new game' selection and press 1-3-7-9.
Select your level!
For god mode, and other goodies, reset the game and go to the start
menu. Start a game as usual, and press 4-6-6-8 for GOD mode
(invincible!), 4-9-9-6 for maximum ammo, 4-7-8-6 to skip the level,
and 4-8-8-7 for the debugging info!
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????? ????????????????????
?? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????
??? ??????????????? ???????? ????? ??
??? ?? ????? ????????? ????? ?????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
IF you have something console related you would like to _privately_
sell, contact me and I will include your add for free in the next and
subsequent issues.
Atari 400 system. Sell all or part: upgraded console, disk drive, about
15 carts -- all the classics like Pac Man, Centipede, Missile Command --
plus some disks. Inquire for more details to: Eric Balkan, 14704 Seneca
Castle Ct, Gaithersburg MD 20878 USA; ebalkan@ppbbs.clark.net; PP BBS:
301-294-0756.
Supercom Pro v2 Backup Unit for SNES for sale - Includes 1.6MB disk
drive, 16MBits RAM upgradeable to 32, power supply, and com I/O pass-through.
$200 ono 1 yr old. Contact Pete at 313 386-5214 MI, USA
email: bsc@tiamat.umd.umich.ed
SUPPORT SITES/DISTRIBUTION
- ***********/\************
THE following places are the first to receive Frontier each month, and
also carry previous issues. If you are after the latest issue of
Frontier, these places are where you will find it:
VIOLENT CRIMES (BBS)
Note: PERMANENTLY OFFLINE!
DiGiTAL iLLUSiONS (BBS)
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-558-2771
Sysop: Messiah
Extra: logon as 'frontier' with pw 'frontier' for just the magazine
EMPIRE (BBS)
Melbourne, Australia
+61-3-591-0020
Sysop: Matthew Clemants
Extra: This is still being worked on, issues are distributed here
Fidonet (3:632/530)
CUBENet (BBS)
Munich, Germany
+49-089-149-8811
Sysop: Peter Koehnkow
Extra Info: 44 lines! One of Europe's biggest BBS
Fidonet (2:2480/66)
X=Link BBS
Singapore
+065-345-2083
Sysop: Melvin Chia
Extra Info: 24hrs (Sat/Sun/Singapore public holidays)
1200-0000 (Mon-Fri : Singapore Time)
Fidonet (6:600/638)
Packet Press BBS
United States
+1-301-294-0756
Sysop: Eric Balkan (balkane@eon.com)
Extra Info: None applicable - just call!
-+-*/ X-TReMe BBS /*-+-
Steenbergen, The Netherlands
+31-1670-66390
SYSoPS: The DoCToR & PYGoR (U055231@HNYKUN11.UCI.KUN.NL)
Extra Info: General support BBS (too much for one line)
Continental Drift BBS
Sydney, Australia
+61-2-949-4256
Sysop: Andre Lackmann (Andre_Lackmann@drift.apana.org.au)
Extra Info: Fidonet (3:714/911)
FTP
ftp.digex.net in /pub/access/spatton/frontier_magazine/
Admin: contact Scott Patton (spatton@access.digex.net)
Extra Info: Only the latest issue of Frontier will be available
here due to limited archive space.
FTP (non-official)
California, United States
wuarchive.wustl.edu in /pub/msdos_uploads/frontier_magazine/
Admin: archive@wugate.wustl.edu
Extra Info: At present only on a temporary basis and is not
official (could disappear at any time). I know, its not
DOS related, but where else does it go?
* Frontier is looking for somebody who can set up some sort of
internet list-server so that Frontier can be sent via email to
people who don't have FTP access. Contact the editor if you are
willing to provide this.
* You too can become a support site and be added to this list. All
that is required is for you to hold the current and back issues of
Frontier, and be able to FTP each issue as it is released.
Simple...
HOW *YOU* TOO CAN HELP OUT FRONTIER
- **************=/\=****************
FOR a magazine such as this to prosper, Frontier needs regular
contributions from its readers. From general articles, new releases, to
reviews and opinions, Frontier needs them all. Even small pieces of
information which you feel may not or may not be important, don't
hesitate to send them in. Most likely, if it hasn't been mentioned, we
don't know about it!
If you wish to become a regular reviewer for Frontier, drop me a line
stating the consoles you own, and which game(s) you want to review and
I'll email you the 'Frontier reviewer's guide'. This guide should cover
everything you need to know about writing a review for this magazine, or
for those who have never written a review before and want to.
The following things are specifically needed at present:
- Gameplay co-ordinator position: To compile a list of cheats,
hints and solutions for many games on many different platforms.
You should be an avid game player and be able to discover
material for yourself - eg: not taken straight from other
magazines.
- More reviewers: Although many have asked for and have been sent
the reviewer's guide, I have heard very little back in the way of
reviews from those people. Please get those reviews in if you
intend on having them published!
- More cheats: A lot of the cheats as you may notice are reprints
of those that have appeared in other magazines. I am trying to
stay away from this, so if you have an original cheat or hint
please send it in.
* For information on where to send any material or contributions,
see the following section.
HOW TO CONTACT FRONTiER
IF you need to contact Frontier for any reason, to ask a question, to
pose a question, to comment on the magazine or industry in general, or
for any other reason, don't hesitate to mail! (as it were).
* Gordon Craick (chief editor) *
.._@/` Post: Gordon Craick For those who do not have access
16 Gums Avenue to the internet
Belgrave, Victoria
AUSTRALIA 3160
Email: pred@zikzak.apana.org.au For response within a few minutes
to a few days!
FidoNet: Netmail to 3:632/530 (Gordon Craick)
.:. If I don't receive your mail, try sending it again. If i
*still* don't receive your message, try posting a 'where are
you?' post in one of the console newsgroups (which I regularly
monitor) and I should be able to get back to you. Otherwise,
don't worry, I'm probably just dead :)
CREDITS/THANKS
KEEP up the great support everybody! Specific thank you's go to:
. Since the list has grown rather large now, thanks go out to _all_
who have offered to be a support site. Keep up your support!
. Stan Olson for his excellent review
. Cyphron for a cool SSF2 review
. Jarrod Day for the moves for the MK2 move guide
. Micheal Delaney for the 3DO release list
. Bob Anderson for the first ever 'mini' review!
. YOU for reading the magazine!
* Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by Gordon
Craick.
That's about it from the fifth issue of Frontier! Look out for
issue six out (hopefully!) in October...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION - FRONTIER MAGAZINE AND ALL ARTICLES
CONTAINED WITHIN REMAIN THE LEGAL PROPERTY OF THE AUTHOR(S) UNDER
EXISTING WORLDWIDE COPYRIGHT TREATIES AND IS (c) COPYRIGHT 1994. NO
PART OF THIS MAGAZINE MAY BE DISTRIBUTED SEPARATELY OR SOLD FOR
PROFIT WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM THE EDITOR AND RESPECTIVE
AUTHOR'S.
ALL COMPANIES AND NAMES MENTIONED IN THIS MAGAZINE REMAIN
TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPANIES.
FRONTIER CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSSES INCURRED FROM
INFORMATION IN THIS MAGAZINE, EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. WHILE
CARE IS TAKEN TO ENSURE ACCURATE INFORMATION, FRONTIER CANNOT BE
HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSSES INCURRED AS A RESULT THEREOF.
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