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See full-resolution scans at http://segaretro.org/File:StheSegaMagazine_UK_07.pdf


+Contents

S

The SEGA Mag

TOTALLY DEDICATED TO BRITAIN'S BEST SELLING CONSOLE

ISSUE 7

June 1990

£1.25

ENTER THE FANTASY ZONE!

Discover The Role Playing Games That Stretch Your Imagination...

COMPLETE PLAYERS' GUIDE TO PSYCHO FOX

EXCLUSIVE REVIEWS OF OPERATION WOLF AND CHASE HQ!


BEEP!

Ohhh, Isn't life dull.

What we need is a Sega...

That's a games console.

Plug me in and things will really liven up.

You can get loads of Sega games like "Outrun," "Double Dragon," "Shinobi," "Ghostbusters."

And you can buy extra bits like these... 3D. You look weird.

OK? Do us a favour. PLug me into a Sega.

Now let's resume noRmal service shall we? I'll get back to sleep.

"DO ME A FAVOUR... PLUG ME INTO A SEGA®"

SEGA® from Virgin

SEGA MASTER SYSTEM R.R.P. £79.99 SEGA GAMES FROM R.R.P. £9.99

DISTRIBUTED BY VIRGIN MASTERONIC LIMITED, VERNON YARD, PORTOBELLO ROAD, LONDON W11 2DX. TELEPHONE 01-727 8070


INSIDE

The Big Reviews

4 - OPERATION WOLF

Taito's mega coin-op blasts its way onto the Master System. Is it a wolf in sheep's clothing?

(Image caption) Op Wolf - one screen you'll see plenty of!

16 - CHASE HQ

Another stormer from Taito! Take the law into your own hands in this high-speed chase game.

Past Masters

20 - CAPTAIN SILVER

Seek out the lost treasure of Captain Silver - and try not to get seriously duffed up along the way...

21 - BOMBER RAID

Indulge in a bit of aerial bombardment, in this kickin' shoot 'em up!

ISSUE 7 JUNE1990

EDITOR
Steve Jarratt
ART EDITOR
Sally Meddings
SEGA CLUB EDITOR
Tony Takoushi
CONTRIBUTOR
Graeme Kidd
ILLUSTRATOR
Wayne Allen
STUDIO DESIGN ASSISTANT
Amanda Cook
PUBLISHER
Chris Anderson

All enquiries and correspondence should be addressed to:
S The Sega Mag
Future Publishing Ltd., Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, Avon BA1 2AP

COLOUR REPRO
RCS Graphics, Torquay, Devon
PRINTERS
Redwood Burn Ltd., Melksham, Wilts
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Tony Roberts

This magazine is a fully independent publication. The views expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of Sega Enterprises Ltd., nor of Virgin Mastertronic, their UK distributors.

© Future Publishing Ltd. 1990

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. You do and there'll be trouble.

Specials

8 - COMPO

Enter the labyrinth and confront the dragon - you could win yourself a class copy of Phantasy Star!

(Image caption) Want to see this for real? Turn to page 8, now!

9 - DOING THE MONSTER MASH

Graeme Kidd looks at the adventure and role playing games that take your imagination and give it a good rattling!

Regulars

6 - STUFF

All the Sega happenings this month, in beautiful black and white. Plus a few grey bits here and there.

14 - SCRIBBLINGS

Got questions you want answered or just need information? Well you can write to the Ed - but it probably won’t do you a lot of good...

18 - SMALL ADS

If you want to buy, sell or swap, pay a visit to our small ads section - you won't be disappointed.

22 - SUBSCRIPTION OFFER/BACK ISSUES

Cheap games and free copies of S - heck, what more could you want?

32 - SEGA CLUB

Calling all club members! Gossip, compos, special offers and the user group report - check it out!

Gameplay

27 - A LITTLE BIT OF SLY HELP

The complete solution to Psycho Fox, plus a full players' guide to Wonderboy in Monsterland. Is that snake too good to you or what?

31 - SLY HIGH SCORES

This is the place to get your name in lights. Only the raddest, coolest high-scoring heroes get a mention. You ain't got it if you ain't here!


GAME TEST

OPERATION WOLF

Mass murder and mayhem down Latin America way!

PRICE
£29.99
PLAYERS
1
CONTROL
Joypad, Light Phaser

Taito's mould breaking coinop started a stream of look 'n' play-a-likes, such as Mechanized Attack, Sega's own Line Of Fire and the sequel Operation Thunderbolt. However, Op Wolf (as it's known) was the one that started it all - and now it's on the Master System!

For everyone who wouldn't know an Operation Wolf from a Project Whale, here's the M.O. - taking the role of guerrilla commando hard-person, you are placed behind the stock of an Uzi 9mm semi automatic machine gun-cum-missile launcher jobby... er... and you have to kill people. OK? Got that? Fine. That's really all you need to know. However, there are few finer details and technicalities you should take note of if you want to survive longer than the first three seconds.

Your mission begins as you get para-dropped into the war zone (somewhere in South America, although the exact location is a guarded secret) in a one-man gung-ho Ramboesque mission to rescue prisoners-of-war. These poor saps are incarcerated in a secret hideout miles away, so you have to machine-gun your way into the enemy's communications set-up, through the jungle, across a village, into their ammo dump, through the prison camp (being careful not to hit the prisoners) and finally across the airport runway, giving covering fire as the POW's attempt to board a plane for home.

As the different scenes scroll by, enemy soldiers, armoured vehicles, helicopters and ships come into view, all of which have to be blasted to bits by gunfire or grenade (you can use a Light Phaser in port 1 with a joystick in port 2 to fire grenades, or just joystick alone). If you don't, they fire on you - and they never miss. Keep an eye on your damage meter if you don't believe it!

(Image caption) Here is today's itinerary. Looks like you've got a busy day ahead!

At the bottom of the screen, a panel displays the number of enemy men and craft left to be destroyed before you are deemed to have finished the level. As you progress through the different stages, this number grows until on the last scene you have to despatch 85 men, 11 choppers and four armoured carriers. Oh dear.

(Image caption) Guerrillas in the mist! The mass slaughter continues along the jungle river.

Of course, it would be too easy if you just kept your finger on the trigger. That's why you've only got a limited amount of ammo. Extra magazines (the sort that hold bullets, not pictures) and grenades are collected by shooting the corresponding icons on screen (just why the enemy leave piles of useful ammo lying around, or why they don't just blow up when you hit them is never adequately explained...).

(Image caption) The poor guy in the pyjamas is an escaping prisoner - don't blast him!

Not only that, but you can also get extra arms by winging the chickens, condors and pigs that fly and scamper across the scene. The poor creature leaps up in the air, and can be relied upon to drop a clip of bullets or grenade in their panic (again, the exact reasons why a Peruvian condor would be pegging it for the border with several rounds of ammunition under their wing remains a mystery).

Other icons that should be on the receiving end of your 9mm high-velocity attention are the 'P' bottles (reduces life damage), sticks of dynamite (blows up, taking any enemy in the vicinity with it), and the odd-shaped lump marked 'FREE' (temporary unlimited ammo for a trigger-happy blasting session!).

(Image caption) Take that chum! Er... hold on... is that a streaker in the background?

Things that you shouldn't blast are the scurrying natives, nurses and escaping prisoners. Hitting these is not only a very un-American thing to do, but aiso results in a hefty loss of your life. Obviously, this reduces the fun factor somewhat.

If you take too long over the first stage, you located by the enemy, which is bad news! An separate still screen comes up where you have to blast an unknown number of enemy guerrillas and helicopters before being allowed to continue. Lose it here, as they say, and you're in a whole world o' hurt.

(Image captions)

One of the between-stage statics, which are almost identical to the coin-op.

That green bomb-shaped gizmo is a grenade. A quick blast and it's yours!

The joystick cross-hair pin-points the enemy. Watch out for that grenade!

At the end of the second, jungle sequence, you meet with one of the South American rebel generals who runs back and forth across the screen clutching a young woman in front of him for cover - the cad! You have to plug this guy in the head a couple of times to make him surrender and allow you to continue the mission. But beware! Hit the girl just once, and you’re dead meat.

The carnage continues in this general fashion until your life meter finally fills up with red. If you croak early, you can continue once per level, but only on the first four stages. The last two you have to finish in one go!

VERDICT

The one great thing about Op Wolf is that anyone can play, whether they have a Light Phaser or just a joystick (so why aren't all Light Phaser games like this?). Thankfully the assault is comfortable with both controls, and there's even an option to alter the speed of the floating crosshair in joystick mode!

If anything, the 'Phaser is slightly more effective than 'stick alone, although your trigger finger gets tired and you have to scrabble for the joystick button to launch grenades (try putting the stick on the floor, and pressing the button with your foot). The only pain is that when you use the 'Phaser, the screen flashes white every time a shot is fired. Now this is alright for the first couple of rounds, but after an extended session the constant flashing gets on your nerves - headache inducing or what?

The background graphics are pretty much up to scratch, with the only disappointment being the smallish sprites and standard two-frames of animation. The huge guy who appears from the bottom of the screen isn't nearly as impressive as he should be. Likewise, the armoured personnel carriers and helicopters look great, but are a bit on the titchy side. Generally though, these niggles don’t amount to much. It certainly looks like Op Wolf, and the frantic gameplay is there in all its adrenalin-pumping, trigger-finger-blistering glory!

Unfortunately, the use of continues - limited as they are - still means that you can breeze through the first four stages. You might have trouble on the fifth and then spend some time hacking through the final sixth stage, but it still won't take you long to finish the mission. At least the experience is good enough for a repeat blast, and you can always try to improve your hit ratios!

This is without doubt the best Light Phaser game to date (knocking Wanted from that prominent position) and this time joystick owners get a good slice of the action too! Shoot down to your local Sega store, and commandeer a copy now!

S RATINGS

GRAPHICS
89%

▲ Well drawn scenery is extremely faithful to it’s arcade big brother

▲ Superb static screens in between levels and during the attract mode

▼ Smallish sprites make the game slightly less visually impressive than the coin-op

▼ Background scroll is a teensy bit jerky

▼ Large explosions are flickery and a bit limp

SOUND
59%

▲ Authentic coin-op intro and jingles are pretty decent

▲ Meaty gunshot and explosion sounds adds to the intense atmosphere

▼ Silly warbly noise when the enemy kick the bucket

▼ Sampled speech of the original has gone walkies

DEPTH
55%

▲ You have to shoot strategically - being trigger happy will only get you dead!

▼ The six stages are visually different, but it's the same style of action all the way through

ADDICTION
93%

▲ Manic blasting gameplay is a real pulse-raiser!

▲ Playing through the earlier rounds is no great hardship - not when it's as much fun as this!

▲ There's a really strong lure to finish the mission

▼ Continues - even the few you get here - mean that the game is still a bit too easy

S-FACTOR
91%

A smart conversion and a belting good shoot 'em up. Your parents won't like it -but you'll love it!


STUFF!

EDITOR'S WIBBLE

Well, what an interesting month this turned out to be! Just when it looked like we weren't even going to have one new game to review, what should appear but two corkers from Taito - Op Wolf and Chase HQ - only two of the stonkingest coin-ops to appear over the last few years, that's all! And it's a good job really, otherwise you would have had four blank pages to draw on or something.

Er... urn... OK, so maybe it wasn't that interesting.

Read and enjoy.

SEGA CHEETAH

Just about three nanoseconds too late to make the joystick round-up in S6 was the latest 'stick from Cheetah. The 125 Sega is based on the Cheetah 125+ which has proved immensely popular with computer gameplayers the world over. This lightweight unit comes in the standard base/stick design with four suckers for tabletop security. The handle boasts an ergonomically designed finger grip (ie it's knobbly) and is spring-loaded for self-centring. Control throughout is via contact plates, and with four fire buttons - handle-mounted trigger and thumb buttons, plus two on the base - even left-handed gamers should cope.

The new 'stick should be available by the time you read this, from all good stores (Toys 'R' Us, Menzies, WH Smith, Boots and so on) and should be found hovering around the ten quid mark. It’ll also be in a big red box marked 'Cheetah 125 Sega’ - you can't miss it.

JUNE TOP 10

The coveted top spot is still split between WBIII and R-Type although Psycho Fox seems to have made quite an impact, leaping straight to the number three spot! More surprises entrants come int he shape of Golden Axe (well, that's not really a surprise, 'cos it's brill), Dynamite Dux and Ys.

And this month's winner of the totally brutal, amazingly rad, ultra happenin' and generally quite nice Sega T-shirt is Giles Summerhayes from Bletchingley (what a great name!) in Surrey, whose fave rave at the moment is Wonderboy trois. Very large congrats to Giles, and ta very much to everyone else who contributed their top 10s. Keep it up chaps and chappesses! The address to send your votes to is:

Top 10, S magazine, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath Avon BA1 2AP

  1. WONDERBOY III
  2. R-TYPE
  3. PSYCHO FOX
  4. WONDERBOY IN MONSTERLAND
  5. Y S
  6. SHINOBI
  7. DYNAMITE DUX
  8. GOLDEN AXE
  9. DOUBLE DRAGON
  10. CALIFORNIA GAMES

ENTER THE DRAGON

Amiga owners have long been able to show off their machine's graphic capabilities with Readysoft's amazing conversion of the Don Bluth laser disc coin-op Dragon's Lair. Well, the American software house is at this very moment busy hacking away in the states to produce a Genesis version, which should be nothing short of spectacular!

Anyone familiar with this ground-breaking arcade game will know what we're on about: the game loaded in animated sequences (just like a snippet of a standard cartoon) from a laser disc (big CD) and the player had to guide the character of Dirk Daring by moving the joystick and pressing the fire button at strategic moments. Depending upon the players' actions, the machine would then load in another animated sequence, showing Dirk escaping from a monster, plunging to his doom, etc.

The video sequences were produced by the Don Bluth studios in Dublin, which is also responsible for An American Tale, The Land Before Time, Oliver and Co, plus the currently-showing All Dogs go to Heaven.

The Amiga version suffered from having to load several megabytes of graphics from SIX 3.5" disks! Hopefully, the Mega Drive version (if and when it finally appears for the European system) should play a lot smoother since it will be able to draw its graphics straight from memory. Mind you, the Amiga version was about £45, so gawd knows how much the Sega version will roll in at!

S8

Next issue... ah, yes, well. Eon. S’pose we’ll have some reviews and stuff. The long-awaited Golfamania should be next up for the S-treatment (maybe). We did think of getting Seve Ballesteros to review it, but, let’s face it, anyone who can’t even spell ’Steve’ isn't going to be much good behind a word processor...

As long as there aren’t any Greater-London-engulfing tidal waves, we should have more hot news of the latest Sega games currently being coded by Mirrorsoft. That’s fairly definite. Sort of.

On the playing tips front, Sly reckons it’s about time we blew Rastan out of the water with a full players’ guide (not to mention a fantastic cheat!), so if you've got any maps or tips, get ’em in quick!

We’ll no doubt have a special feature for you to browse through at your leisure, but just what’s in it exactly, is a well-kept secret - even from us. We thought about a special gardening pull-out-and-keep thlngy now that summer is nearly upon us, but decided against it on the grounds that it was totally and completely crap. "How about a cake decorating feature?” voiced Sal. A short, sharp clip round the ear soon put paid to that crummy idea. So there you go. We haven’t got a due. Might be good; might not be. But then you can’t really afford to take any chances can you? Get S8, or you'll be sorry. Probably.

PRICE LIST

What with Virgin Mastertronic knocking the prices down on some carts, and pushing up the price on others, we thought it was time that we cleared any confusion by giving you a full price list of all the currently available Sega games - all 94 of 'em!

CONTROL PAD
£6.99
HANDLE CONTROLLER
£39.99
RAPID FIRE UNIT
£5.99
LIGHT PHASER
£29.99
LIGHT PHASER/CART
£44.99
CONTROL STICK
£14.99
SG COMMANDER
£9.99
3D GLASSES
£39.99
MAINS ADAPTOR
£6.99
ACTION FIGHTER
£12.99
AFTER BURNER
£29.99
ALEX KIDD: HIGH TECH WORLD
£29.99
ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD
£24.99
ALEX KIDD: THE LOST STARS
£29.99
ALIEN SYNDROME
£29.99
ALTERED BEAST
£29.99
AMERICAN BASEBALL
£24.99
AMERICAN PRO F'BALL
£29.99
ASTRO WARRIOR/PIT POT
£24.99
AZTEC ADVENTURE
£12.99
BANK PANIC
£17.99
BASKETB'L NIGHTMARE
£29.99
BLACK BELT
£24.99
BLADE EAGLE 3D
£29.99
BOMBER RAID
£29.99
CALIFORNIA GAMES
£29.99
CAPTAIN SILVER
£29.99
CASINO GAMES
£29.99
CHOPLIFTER
£24.99
CLOUD MASTER
£29.99
CYBORG HUNTER
£24.99
DEAD ANGLE
£29.99
DOUBLE DRAGON
£29.99
DYNAMITE DUX
£29.99
ENDURO RACER
£9.99
F-16 FIGHTER
£17.99
FANTASY ZONE
£12.99
FANTASY ZONE II
£24.99
FANTASY ZONE 3 - THE MAZE
£24.99
GALAXY FORCE
£29.99
GANGSTER TOWN
£24.99
GHOSTBUSTERS
£29.99
GHOST HOUSE
£17.99
GLOBAL DEFENCE
£12.99
GOLDEN AXE
£29.99
GOLVELLIUS
£29.99
GREAT BASEBALL
£24.99
GREAT BASKETBALL
£24.99
GREAT FOOTBALL
£24.99
GREAT GOLF
£24.99
GREAT VOLLEYBALL
£24.99
KENSEIDEN
£29.99
KUNG FU KID
£24.99
LORD OF THE SWORD
£29.99
MARKSMAN/TRAP SHOOTING/SAFARI HUNT
£24.99
MAZE HUNTER 3D
£29.99
MIRACLE WARRIORS
£32.99
MISSILE DEFENCE 3D
£29.99
MONOPOLY
£29.99
MY HERO
£17.99
OUT RUN
£29.99
OUT RUN 3D
£29.99
PENGUIN LAND
£29.99
PHANTASY STAR
£39.99
POSEIDON WARS 3D
£29.99
POWER STRIKE
£24.99
PRO WRESTLING
£24.99
PSYCHO FOX
£29.99
QUARTET
£24.99
R-TYPE
£29.99
RAMBO III
£29.99
RAMPAGE
£29.99
RASTAN
£29.99
RESCUE MISSION
£9.99
ROCKY
£29.99
SCRAMBLE SPIRITS
£29.99
SECRET COMMAND
£12.99
SHANGHAI
£24.99
SHINOBI
£29.99
SHOOTING GALLERY
£24.99
SPACE HARRIER
£29.99
SPACE HARRIER 3D
£29.99
SPELLCASTER
£29.99
SPY VS SPY
£17.99
SUPER TENNIS
£19.99
TEDDY BOY
£9.99
TENNIS ACE
£29.99
THE NINJA
£9.99
THUNDERBLADE
£29.99
TIME SOLDIERS
£29.99
TRANSBOT
£9.99
VIGILANTE
£29.99
WANTED
£24.99
WONDERBOY
£24.99
WONDERBOY IN MONSTERLAND
£29.99
WONDERBOY III: THE DRAGON'S TRAP
£29.99
WORLD GRAND PRIX
£12.99
WORLD SOCCER
£24.99
Y'S VANISHED OMENS
£32.99
ZAXXON 3D
£29.99
ZILLION
£24.99
ZILLION II
£24.99

S5 COMPETITION WINNERS

Everyone waiting with baited breath for the results of the 3D Glasses/Zaxxon competition can un-bait themselves now, 'cos here they are!

For a start, there's a slight change to the prizes. As we had so many good entries we thought it might be nice to reward a couple of runners up, too. So, as well as the first prize, we’ve got two sweatshirts up for grabs as well. Generous to a fault, us.

Since we were after the most amazing peripheral for your Sega, it was something of a surprise to find that all most of you wanted was a crappy infra-red remote control autofire joystick. Bo-ring or what? Next most popular was a device that plugged into the old black box, enabling you to find all the cheats and stuff. Sly thought this was most amusing. We also had a fair amount of Konix-style moving chairs which let you play Out Run and throw up at the same time. Sorry, guys - good, but not very original.

Just when we were despairing of finding a decent entry, we were totally gobsmacked by 'Turbomugz 8-bit' from Sam White of Stockport. Since magazine production practically runs of coffee, this is the ideal motivator to get the S team going (we’re having them fitted to our Macintosh computers at the moment). Sam can look forward to playing Zaxxon 3D any day now!

The two runners' up prizes go to Simon Melksham of Bath (just up the road form the S offices, coincidentally) and David Wade of Felton in Avon, for the stereo headphones/special sound effects gizmo, and the cyberspace interactive helmet. Congratulations to those three and tough cookies to everyone who copped a zero.

THE SEGA TURBOMUGZ 8-BIT (redrawn and tidied up a bit!)

The Sega Turbomugz has the ability to memorise the high score you get on any Sega cart. If this score is beaten the Turbomugz will automatically make the player a cup of coffee (or tea). The choccy-biccy dispenser can be used at any time during the game.

SEGA INTERACTIVE HELMET

STEREO HEADPHONES AND SAMPLED SOUND EFFECTS BOX


SPECIAL

COMPETITION

If you fancy getting into the fantasy world of adventure gaming, what better way than to get hold of a copy of Phantasy Star? This is one of the best fantasy role playing adventures on the Sega (as you will no doubt discover by reading the following pages) and is a fine introduction to the fantasy makebelieve world of RPGs (and it's also worth rather a lot of money, too!).

We have ONE copy of Phantasy Star up for grabs to the sender of the first correct compo entry pulled out of the box marked 'hat'. So whaddya gotta do? Read on...

Once upon a time, there were three brave(ish) knights who did decided to infiltrate a fiercesome dragon's domain (any old dragon, they mindeth not), and duff him up a treat, cos that's what knights do.

And so it is written that Atrocious Aaron, (Bong the 'Brave, and the legendary C (Aka He who has no name but that which is also the third letter of the alphabet) did set off into the darkest, dankest, drippiest depths of the dragon’s domain...

And lo, after a hit of wandering round, there came a wailing and a gnashing of teeth, for two of the knights did runneth up against a brick wall, and verity could not find the dragon (these two went home and picked on a large cow instead, but were well and truly beaten up — but that's another story...)

Any road up, the final knight did meander and a-wander his way through the maze and finally met with the dragon and, upon seeing that he wasn't such a bad old lizard, did spare his life and they lived together happily ever after - though not like that....

So, to win this cart (as if you hadn't already guessed) all you have to do is find which of the ker-niggets eventually became chums with ye olde drag'. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Write the answer (A, B or C - hell's teeth, you've a 33.3% chance of guessing the answer! How generous are we?*) on a postcard or the back of an envelope, including all your vital statistics like name and address.

Send your entry to: 'Knight, dragon, blah, waffle compo', S Mag, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, Avon BA1 2AP to arrive no later than the 20th of June, so we can print the winner’s name in S9.

* Actually, we’re this generous.


DOING THE MONSTER MASH

Hack 'n' Slay the Sega Way!

"Nah mate. Don’t play adventure games meself. Bore-ing or what? Give me a good platform game or shoot ‘em up anyday. ‘Swat yer joypad controller’s for, innit? An’ you got no keyboard. Stands to reason - adventuring’s all about text, an’ solvin’ puzzles an' stuff. Nah - I like a game I can really get into. The kind of game that’s got plenty of levels and gives yer a high score. Something to be proud of - a competitive, like."

Just one reaction, when we asked a few readers what they though about using the Sega for something slightly different. Odd, really, given the number of folks who couldn’t wait for the next installment of the Phantasy Star tips, but there you go.

“Time we did something about it,” said Uncle Steve as he grappled with Sly for the morning’s post. “Looks like a whole lot of our readers could be missing out on some real fun,” he added, wresting a fat envelope from Sly’s coils. “GK? You’ve got ‘til Wednesday to tell ‘em about adventure role-playing.”

DIE-HARD

Hmm. Where to begin? Ah yes, at the beginning, of course...

It’s true. Computer adventure games have had a bit of a bad press over the years - after all, it's just the die-hard fanatics who really get off on text-only gameplay isn’t it? Tapping away at a keyboard and peering into a mono monitor for the response to ‘Go West”, ‘Take Chalice” and so on. You know, the sort of boring adventure quests that were all that was available before the shoot 'em up was invented. Games from the days of the computer ark, when screens were only good for displaying text -and silently, at that. Not the sort of thing you’d buy a Sega for...

Quite true. But there’s more than one way to kill a monster.

Look how many people enjoy getting into fantasy role playing - Dungeons & Dragons started that ball rolling yonks ago. Sure, getting a stack of people to spend evening after evening around a board, developing complicated sets of rules and applying them to build up players’ characters isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s plenty of fun if you’ve got the time to spare and a handful of like-minded friends.

Then there are the fantasy role-playing gamebooks - developed from the Dungeons & Dragons idea by the likes of Steve Jackson. Truly portable, one-person roleplaying. All you need is a book, a pencil and some dice and you’re off, bashing monsters on the head, collecting treasure and turning into a well-hard hero before teatime. And those books sell by the lorryload. Got to be something in it for ordinary folk, hasn’t there?

There’s plenty. Especially now you’re a Sega owner - the Sega is well equipped for a spot of fantasy roleplaying, and can turn its chips to a bit of character-building and monster-bashing with the best of them. Just imagine - all those scrummy screen colours, all those neat sound effects you’ve come to know and love in arcade games and sports sims - harnessed into the D&D mould. All you need is right sort of game in the slot, a controller in your hand and you’re off into weird and mystical lands to win fame and fortune on a monster-killing quest.

The Sega can take care of all those hard sums and tricky rules that lie behind really convincing fantasy role-playing games. Leaving you to concentrate on the sharp end - doing battle, planning a spot of strategy and applying your intelligence to crossing hostile territory, finding valuable objects and generally coming out on top.

Okay, so it takes a bit more effort when it comes to reading the inlay. You’ve got to work out what’s going on, and sometimes you need to get a bit of a grip on how things like money, hit points, weapons, armour and so on need to be mixed ‘n’ matched to get the best results as the quest unfolds. And some fantasy role-playing games take a little while to get moving - your character probably starts out as a penniless wimp with little more than a pointy stick and a rubber shield when he (or she!) first sets out to maul a few monsters.

So the first half hour might not yield amazing results. Your character is bound to start off by getting thoroughly duffed over - duffed to death, in all probability. But gradually your skills as a player improve, and your character gets rougher and tougher. A little longer, and you’ve worked out how the land lies - with a bit of experimentation you pick up the best fighting tactics, learn where the weak monsters live and where the really vicious ones lurk, and the game really starts to move.

It's not that different to learning the best moves in Tennis Ace. Or working out the rules for American Pro Football. But there's nothing wrong with giving the grey cells a bit of a stir now and again, is there? Especially when the rewards are so good. Play an FRP game, as we chaps in the know refer to them, and after a very short while you won’t want to stop. The initial investment, such as it is, pays off handsomely. It's really satisfying going back and killing off a monster that gave you a real hard time in the early stages, especially if you’ve built your character up so it can be done with a flick of the wrist rather than with a monumental struggle.

ARCADE ACE

And don’t be nervous. You don't have to jump right into the FRP deep-end. If you’re a real arcade ace, maybe you could start gently with games like Golvellius, Lord Of The Sword or Spellcaster - your finely polished reflexes, and nano-second-perfect sense of timing, will come in handy.

Look. You know how much fun there’s to he had completing a really challenging quest, whether it’s winning the league, driving the fastest car or clocking up the highest score in the history of human endeavor? Well Adventure Role Playing on the Sega is every bit as much fun.

On the following pages we offer an overview of the scene. Maybe a whole new world of Sega gaming is just waiting over the page for you to discover. Don’t forget, we’ve already printed pretty hefty solutions to some of these games. FRP or Adventure Role Playing games on the Sega are fun. And that, in a sense, is what they’re there for...

GOLVELLIUS VALLEY OF DOOM

GRAPHICS
67%

Lots of cute, original and well-animated monsters to kill, with an interesting variety of viewpoints. Some nice static shots too.

SOUND
65%

Bright, arcadey tunes throughout with some interesting spot effects. Not desperately atmospheric, though.

DEPTH
83%

A huge quest with fast 'n' furious action - and plenty of it. Not a vast amount of ‘adventuring’ or role playing involved: just keep on killing and avoid being killed.

ADDICTION
78%

A maddening challenge for killing freaks, with an interesting mix of gamestyles - vertically scrolling mazes, platforms and a spot of trading and questing. The 32-character password system is annoying and unnecessarily overcomplex.

S-FACTOR
74%

Part of the Sega Action range rather than Adventure Role-Playing, the game offers a gentle introduction to questing. The kind of satisfying action that would help a dedicated joystick-weilder make the transition to fantasy role playing.

FACT BOX:

Price
£29.99
Players
1
Saved Games
0 (password system)

Another king has turned nasty - this time its Golvellius, a king who has been dead for over a thousand years. Now Golvellius is back with a vengeance, and he’s terrorising the people of his old kingdom by sending demons to live in the one valley in the land of Aleid where fresh water is to be found.

Fresh water, and magical healing herbs known as Mea used to make the valley a beautiful and good place. Now it’s a nightmare zone, known as ‘The Valley of Doom’. The beautiful Princess Rena bravely entered the valley to fetch some Mea for her ailing father, was kidnapped by demons and hasn’t been seen since.

Love. The best reason there is for a quest. A wandering warrior named Kelesis heard the tale of Princess Rena’s tragic fate, visited her father and fell in love with the girl the moment he saw her picture. Picking up a bottle of life potion, and pausing only to collect a sharp sword and pair of magic boots from a friendly old crone, with a toss of his wild green hair he sets off to rescue the princess.

Play takes place in three modes. At the very start, there is a horizontally-scrolling platform section which Kelesis must complete in order to reach the entrance to the Valley of Doom. Then there’s a plan view sequence in which the hero battles with minor demons while searching for the route to the next major demon on his list, followed by vertically-scrolling sections inside the valley itself as he makes his way towards each of Golvellius' seven henchbeings.

Kill a henchbeing, or major demon, and like as not a crystal will be yielded up. Collect seven crystals and the long-dead king himself will be forced into combat.

Much of the action is frantic hack ‘n’ slay - the forces of evil do their best to deplete your life force, and you do your best to chop demons to pieces with your trusty sword. Each dead creature earns you gold - up to a maximum limit that is governed by the number of bibles you are carrying. Bibles, like many of the useful items in the game, can be purchased from a little old lady who only accepts precious gold in payment.

(Image caption) Up against Sly's relatives in the first scrolling section!

The old lady, like the other helpful characters, lives in an underground cave. To reveal the hidden mouths of these dwelling caves you need to kill some of the demons that guard the entrances - later on in the quest life becomes a little more complicated, as the caves only reveal themselves when you are carrying the appropriate item and strike special objects.

(Image caption) Deep within the Valley of Doom.

Kelesis lives by the sword - he never was much of a brainbox. Fortunately there’s little for him to puzzle over in the game. Interaction with the cavedwelling characters is minimal, limited to a yes/no response to an offer to trade, or noting down a handy hint or tip. A status screen reveals how much the hero is carrying in the way of gold, spare life potions, crystals and useful items, but few decisions need to be taken. It’s chop, chop, chop rather than puzzle, fret, fight...

Should the hero expire, all is not lost. It’s not possible to save a game position, but a password system allows you to return to fight again with all your possessions intact - you just loose half your gold.

MIRACLE WARRIORS SEAL OF THE DARK LORD

GRAPHICS
55%

An interesting, multi-window approach, which comes into its own during combat. Menus are cumbersome, particularly in the way they present information, giving a simplistic, half-finished feel. The main viewscreen gets very repetitive when you’re travelling - generally, not very exciting.

SOUND
47%

Continual, ‘mediaeval’ type of tune -quite atmospheric, but let down by unimpressive spot effects.

DEPTH
78%

Plenty of it - the land is huge and the variety of tasks you need to undertake should keep ardent role players going for a long while. There's lots of variables to juggle with when planning strategy and leading your team. Continual combat gets repetitive, though.

ADDICTION
80%

A massive task - the will to win should prove strong. However, it's particularly unfriendly at the start, and may be offputting to novice role players. The movement method, which needs the printed map, distracts from play.

S-FACTOR
77%

An ideal role-playing game for existing fans - or to graduate to when you’ve exhausted Phantasy Star or Ys. Maybe a bit too daunting and complicated for the novice...

FACT BOX:

Price
£29.99
Players
1
Saved Games
5 (battery back-up/code system)

Long long ago the Dark Lord Terarin was released from another dimension and terrorised The Five Lands, flooding it with her evil minions. The place was cleaned up by another arch-quester, a chap called Iason, and everything was peaceful and cosy once more.

But Iason didn’t quite finish off the job he started - and now Terarin and her minions are roaming The Five Lands again. As Iason’s descendant, it falls upon you to go a’questing and put paid to the Dark Lord once and for all. Three noble warriors will join your party, adding muscle to your battles - but first they have to be found and re-incarnated.

In the mould of classic, traditional role-playing adventures, the game comes complete with a large printed map of the terrain over which the quest takes place, and to succeed you have to build up your team and work as a group.

(Image caption) Going shopping in one of the many towns that litter the land.

The main display offers your view of events, and is surrounded by a summary of the party’s possessions - Guilders are the hard currency of The Five Lands, Herbs form your post-combat medikit, Fangs are the most common form of negotiable treasure and the team amasses a Character Points rating from combat performance. (The folks who live in the villages you’ll visit are very aware of a chap’s Character and may refuse to have any dealings with adventurers with a low rating.) Readouts on the experience and strength of individual members of the team help you to decide whether to attack or retreat when combat is in the offing.

(Image caption) During a quiet stroll through the mountains you meet this geezer!

Killing monsters usually results in a harvest of fangs which can be converted into Guilders if you can find a merchant in one of the villages; bumping off the odd unfriendly humanoid can earn you hard currency.

Starting out alone and empty-handed, your first task is to find and kill a few easy targets, gather up fangs, convert them to cash and thence to weapons. Build up your own status and bank balance, and you can acquire the items needed to resurrect and equip your companions in arms so that the quest can begin in earnest.

Don’t forget, weapons wear out with use and will need to be repaired or replaced. Keep an eye on the status sub-window which offers a more detailed analysis of the party’s condition. Regular visits to settlements are vital for trade and for picking up clues and advice - and take the opportunity to chat to friendly travellers.

Moving around is achieved in an unusual way. The movement window reveals a square cursor, placed over a small section of the terrain, shown in schematic form. Close attention needs to be paid to the printed map if you are to keep your bearings - and a fair bit of guesswork is needed at first to relate what is shown in the movement window to what is on the map. (It’s well worth making your own additions to the printed map as you go along as well as drawing diagrams of the more complicated mazes and villages.)

And of course there’s plenty of magic in The Five Lands - spells and magical items can be found, bought or won during the quest and an early appreciation of the appropriate uses of magic is worth acquiring.

PHANTASY STAR

GRAPHICS
95%

An effective - if sometimes weak - plan view helps you move around, which is supported by some excellent ‘point of view’ graphics when entering locations or confronting monsters. Brilliantly realistic lighting and perspective effects inside dungeons, caves and mazes, with first-rate animation on monsters make for some extremely atmospheric adventuring!

SOUND
82%

The tunes alter subtly according to mood, with clever use of fades. This is boosted by some realistic spot effects

DEPTH
96%

A neat blend of individual and team-leading skills is called for. A real challenge for adventurers and strategists, with three separate planets to get to grips with, as well as space itself

ADDICTION
90%

The controls become second nature very quickly, then it’s easy to image you’re there! There's very little tedious wandering around - lots of action! It's a little slow at the start, though: you need to keep scuttling for a rest each time you kill a monster until you have enough money to buy better weaponry.

S-FACTOR
94%

‘Prepare to match wits with the very best of the Sega Master!’ the inlay says. And they could well be right. An excellent entertainment - once you’ve teamed up with Odin, Noah and Myau and built up some strength, it’s like controlling an interactive movie. Brilliant? Yes it is.

FACT BOX:

Price
£39.99
Players
1
Saved Games
5 (battery back-up)

Space this time, and why not? It's Century 342, Alis is the female hero, and she has to hack and slay her way across a three-planet solar system in a quest to overthrow a tyrant king.

King Lassic was a jolly old soul until he fell in with a bunch of magicians from another galaxy. Now he’s been promised immortality and the planets in the Algol system are becoming very unpleasant places to live on indeed. Weird monsters stalks the badlands outside human settlements; Robot Cops patrol the cities, mercilessly putting down any opposition to the King and his advisors; perhaps worst of all - the dead are rising again.

Many have already died on the quest to unthrone King Lassie -and the line of resistance terminates with Alis, a gutsy girl on whose shoulders the fate of Algol now rests.

An introductory cartoon-style sequence sets the scene, then Alis ventures forth with very little to protect her. Lots of money is needed to buy essential items, and three companions need to be found and rendered available to join the quest if it is to succeed. The only way Alis has of improving her lot is to go out into the badlands and kill monsters.

Two basic viewpoints are offering during play: a top-down plan view that shows Alis (and her companions) moving around on the ground; and a first-person perspective view that is called up during combat, or whenever the adventurers enter a building. All functions are controlled via menus in windows which pop onto the the screen - pressing either button calls up the initial command menu, the direction controller scrolls through menu choices. Press Button 2 to confirm a command or Button 1 to cancel.

When a monster is encountered, all members of the party have to stand and fight together, or they must run away as a team. Combat is decided on the basis of hit points - when a hero or a monster runs out of ‘em, then death ensues - and naturally, the more armour and weaponry the good guys are using the better their chances. Every time a monster expires, the team earns experience points, and a treasure chest appears on the ground. Opening the chest always reveals Mesetas - the local currency - but can sometimes set off a booby trap which adds a further ‘hit’ on the adventurers.

(Image captions)

The overhead view of Alis as she sets about exploring the landscape.

The underground dungeons feature amazingly smooth moving graphics.

As experience points are added up, the characters advance through Levels - the higher a level a character has reached, the more powerful he or she becomes, both in terms of the number of hits that can be taken, and in terms of offensive and defensive strength. And as play progresses, characters learn how to cast magic spells - useful for a variety of purposes, including healing one another after battles.

A group inventory is carried, into which treasure and purchases are automatically put. A host of useful items, apart from weapons and armour can be found or bought from traders in settlements on the three planets. Via the multi-window menu system, items may be dropped, used or assigned for the use individual in the party.

LORD OF THE SWORD

GRAPHICS
73%

Good animation, particularly on the larger characters - worthy of a good arcade game. Neat parallax scrolling effects in some locations. Same old scenery gets repetitive.

SOUND
56%

Continuous tune that somehow fits the action, with arcade-style spot effects. Unfortunately, there's very little variety or atmosphere.

DEPTH
63%

A vast scrolling landscape to explore, section by section. Not a vast amount of role-playing involved - combat is basically sword or bow-play.

ADDICTION
69%

It's dead easy to get into and has a continue option that aUows you to resume where you left off, removing much of the frustration of dying. As much ‘arcade action’ as ‘adventure’ - a good balance that keeps you on your toes! Lots of short sections to traverse -could get dull, despite the variety.

S-FACTOR
64%

A well thought-out blend of role-playing challenge and arcade action. While a deft hand on the controller is needed to survive, the grey matter is also chaHenged. Great for role-players who like to get in there and mix it with the monsters, rather than relying on combat rules.

FACT BOX:

Price
£29.99
Players
1
Saved Games
0 (up to 10 continue options)

A nice, straightforward quest of self-interest, this one. As Landau (surely a four-wheeled carriage? - Ed), you’re a hunky hero who’s entered a contest, a contest that could lead to you being crowned King of the lands of Baljinya.

The minions of the demon lord Ra Goan have killed off the rightful king and are rampaging through the countryside having a fine old time, much to the discomfort of the locals. No-one has the bottle to take the dead king’s place - except you. ah muscles and no brains as your old mum used to say. The Elders are a little unsure of Landau’s kingly capabilities, so they have set him three tests: if you can find the Tree of MeriH, kiU off the goblin who has set up residence in the Balala VaUey and smash the Statue of Evil, you get to be king.

Simple, huh? Not reaHy. For a start, there are several fairly major sub-quests to be undertaken, like finding a kidnapped girl, and making an old man happy by killing a swamp spirit. Setting out from the village of Harfoot, Landau has to travel the length and breadth of the country in search of magical weapons and useful artefacts, kiHing as many demons and mutated animals as he can while keeping in mind his main aim - to become king... The hero starts out with a trusty sword and a bow with a seemingly endless supply of arrows, but additional magic weapons can be won in the later stages of the quest.

(Image caption) Avoiding the onslaught of a leaping Lizard Man in the forest.

The large play area is divided into sections at either end of which some thoughtful person has planted a signpost. There’s no information on the signs, but the direction in which the controUer is moved governs where the hero goes next. A map of the land is presented on screen when PAUSE is activated, but it’s of little use when it comes to finding your way around - there’s no ‘You Are Here’ arrow, for a start... Pencil and paper are definitely caHed for, and there's a useful A-Z in the instruction booklet.

As usual, points are awarded for despatching monsters, and progress is helped if you complete tasks in the right order.

Energy supplies are limited, but can be replenished by taking a rest in the appropriate place - there’s a hospitable householder right near to the start of the game, and other viHages offer similar facilities for R&R inbetween monster-bashing sessions. On the down side, there’s no save game facility as such - but when Landau pops his clogs it’s possible to re-start play at the beginning of the section on which he expired.

(Image caption) The old Wizard provides the first task that you must undertake.

In the villages there’s usuaUy a house or two which the hero can enter, and more often than not a friendly citizen is found indoors. A few villagers offer up useful information readily, others have to be visited and re-visited before they get chatty, while some appear proffer dangerously misleading advice. Perhaps your best friend on the quest is the Wizard - to succeed you need to make many visits to his humble abode.

Brains don’t usually accompany brawn, and to make life simple for the musclebound star, he doesn’t have an inventory to worry about - instead, he has three pockets. Three empty boxes at the top of the screen, and whenever Landau is given something useful it appears in the next vacant slot. Collected items are used automatically upon reaching the right spot - but then you have to get to the right spot in the first place!

SPELLCASTER

GRAPHICS
79%

Heaps of beautiful static screens - many with neat animated sequences plus some gorgeous detailed graphics in the later arcade sections. Many of the enemy sprites lack animation.

SOUND
71%

Generally foreboding soundtracks help add atmosphere, while decent arcade-style spot effects beef up the action sequences. Sparse sound effects during adventure section, though.

DEPTH
88%

The plot just gets thicker and thicker, although the straightforward style of gameplay doesn't provide much room for exploration.

ADDICTION
95%

Continue option and password entry make it really easy to keep on playing, while plenty of game variety keeps the interest level high. The interesting storyline gets you hooked and the action just doesn't let up!

S-FACTOR
91%

With an entertaining blend of action and adventuring, with puzzles,exploration and hands-on combat, Spellcaster offers an easy route into the fantasy arcade adventure genre.

FACT BOX:

Price
£29.99
Players
1
Saved Games
0 (password plus unlimited continue options)

Anyone fortunate enough to have the coveted second issue of S will already have the low-down on this fantasy adventure game. If not...

Evil forces are at large in mediaeval Japan: high in the mountains, holy temples are being raided by nightmare creatures of unknown origin. The head honcho holy man, Daikak, suspects the attacks to be the work of some ancient enemy, and calls upon the mystic warrior Kane to find out just what the hell is going on!

(Image caption) One of demonic Boss monsters zips around the screen, while Kane gets his head out of the way!

As Kane's quest takes him deeper and deeper into this oriental detective mission, his actions are guided and controHed in alternate adventure and arcade action sequences. Moving to new location brings up a static picture, with the options to look, talk to other characters, pick up and use objects. A floating hand allows you to examine particular objects on screen, and it is usuaHy here that Kane discovers vital clues as to his next move.

Progressing through locations sees the viewpoint alter to a Shinobi-style horizontaHy scrolling section, where Kane runs and jumps across obstacles, and can put his speHcasting abilities to good use, raining down aH sorts of elemental powers upon his unearthly adversaries. Kane also has a useful line in Ki force which spurts forth from his hands, like an R-Type energy blast!

Despatching the demons and devils that continuaHy make Kane's life a hard one, often reveals blue or orange balls: collect these and Kane's Strength and Energy are gradually replenished.You have to keep a close eye on both meters, for as Kane's Energy increases, he can attempt the more difficult spells, and as his strength diminshes, he grows ever nearer to death!

A variety of Boss creatures appear, and must be defeated before continuing. Kane's efforts are usually rewarded with another snippet of information to send him on his way.

And so it continues, as the story slowly reveals its innermost secrets. There a few departures to the gamestyle, in that later sections include a boat trip on (and beneath) the sea of Dannoura, a giant pyramid to explore, and a vertically scrolling shoot-out with final monster!

(Image caption) Meeting characters in the adventure section.

With an intriguining storyline, plenty of puzzling and some tough arcade sections, Spellcaster makes an extremely addictive arcade adventure. It's not role playing exactly, but bridges the gap between the arcade and adventure gamestyles, by introducing the best aspects of both.

YS - THE VANISHED OMENS

GRAPHICS
84%

Neat, scrolly landscapes that help you believe you’re actually travelling through Esteria. Not too repetitive, even though the play area is large. Effective use of lighting effects in the mines. Many of the minor monsters are not very convincing.

SOUND
47%

Jolly, friendly tunes play all the while, but don't help the atmosphere. Simplistic spot effects do little to help the cause

DEPTH
89%

A huge area to explore, with some really tricky twists and turns every now and then! But maybe a bit too tricky... sometimes you have to bump into things by accident!

ADDICTION
87%

Simple save game position makes it easy to keep going when the going gets tough. Very little tedious wandering around - lots of action. And the urge to gather gold and get better equipment is strong.

S-FACTOR
85%

An absorbing and straightforward introduction to going questing on the Sega. Keep your S back issues handy while you play, though!

FACT BOX:

Price
£32.99
Players
1
Saved Games
5 (battery back-up)

The island Kingdom of Esteria is having serious problems - not only have the silver mines just about run out of silver, but a real mean sorcerer by the name of Dark Dekt is working very hard to achieve total domination over the land and its people.

Many years ago the Kingdom was protected from the forces of evil by the Goddesses of Ys, a friendly bunch of deities who had to leave suddenly, but wrote down all the good magic they knew in six books before they departed. These six books, crammed full of protective spells, are Esteria’s last hope. If the wicked Dark Dekt get his hands on them, then it’s doom and gloom for the rest of eternity. Should a bright young swordsman manage to find them first and hand them over to the people... well, things would be wonderful again.

Enter hunky swordsman Aron Christian, would-be hero and star of this quest.

(Image caption) Attacking one of Dark Dekt's minions in the palace.

Three books lay hidden in the Tower of the Doomed, and three books have been scattered across the land. Your mission, now that you have chosen to accept it, is to explore the fields and villages of Esteria and hunt through the abandoned silver mine and the temple to find the first three volumes. Only then can you enter Dark Dekt’s inner sanctum in search of the other three books that make up the set.

The basic mode of play doesn’t demand too much joystick dexterity - the hero stomps around the locations quite happily with touches on up, down, left and right and scrapping with one of the wandering monsters couldn’t be simpler - just bump into it, pointy sword to the fore. Energy bars show the relative strengths of the hero and his foe -and the advantages of a bit of shopping down at the armourer’s are quickly made plain. With the basic combat gear, even the weakest monsters are very difficult to kill, but tool up a bit and Aron gets into tank mode.

It’s difficult to get rich (and therefore difficult to get the weapons you really need) just by topping the wandering nasties - in the early levels, you get between 2 and 14 gold pieces a kill, and it takes a lot of spilt monster blood to buy a decent sword, let alone a suit of armour. Serious money can be earned from the locals by doing deals - finding lost valuables and returning them, for instance.

It’s a ‘Shopping and Killing’ interactive novel, really. Getting and using more powerful armour and weapons increases the hero’s offensive and defensive strengths, and killing enemies and achieving certain objectives builds experience points. The more strength and experience Aron has, the higher his personal level and the more hit points he can take before expiring.

Chatting to friendly villagers can yield useful clues and hints as to how to achieve the tasks that are vital to success. And don’t forget to visit the folks who stay indoors - the shopkeepers and other pillars of the community.

(Image caption) I dunno, these women - always wanting something!

Some items are immediately useful - like swords, shields, armour and magical rings; others need to be carried around in your inventory until they become useful in a specific situation. A simple command window allows you to keep track of inventory, pick out items to use, check on Aron’s status and load and save game positions.


MAIL BAG

Scribblings

If you're having problems of an unusual nature, write to S so we can have a jolly good laugh at your expense.

Your questions, queries, interesting oddments and large amounts of money should be addressed to

Scribblings, S magazine, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath Avon, BA1 2AP.

HIGH SCORE SAVER

Dear S

Is there anything I can do to make my score stay on the game when I turn it off, so that the next time I play the game it's still the best score on it?

Steven Smith (Ferret), Cambridge

Sorry, but that's a big negatory good buddy. Some RPGs have a battery back-up so the cart can remember where you got to in the game, and although you could do the same thing with any cartridge, battery back-ups are expensive. So they don't. Why don't you try writing your score down on a piece of paper and sellotaping it to the cartridge... ?

SJ

SHODDY SHINOBI

Dear S

Why is Shinobis end sequence so rubbish while Kenseidens has brilliant graphics? It's not worth getting the game because it's disappointing when it just says 'Game Over'! I hope Super Shinobi is better than that!

Paul McDermott (Super Sega Player), Manchester

I dunno why Sega's programmers couldn't be bothered to put in an end sequence with Shinobi. Maybe they ran out of memory or something. After all, it's pretty stonking for the rest of the time.

SJ

GIMME AN S, GIMME AN E...

Dear S

The other day, I had a form to with the usual surname first. Surprise, surprise! Sonnex, Ernest George Allen.

EGA Sonnex, Oldham

Er... great.

SJ

SEGA CLUB WASTE OF SPACE?

Dear S

  1. Why do you waste so much space in each issue of S by running the same adverts for the Sega club? Surely by now everybody has joined and if not they have three other coupons in the other issues.
  2. The index - we all open books at the front and read on. I fully realise you must have publishing deadlines to keep, but it's a waste of space you could be filling with a load of information or letters and, if possible, more compos. I know this is a big moan, but it only takes an hour to read despite all the work you have done, and the other 30 days I spend in agony waiting to fill my brain with Sega info.

E Sutton, Oxon

  1. What about the people who have only just started getting the mag?
  2. The inside menu provides a really quick way for people to find out exactly what's in the issue. If you're checking the mag out in the newsagents, you can flick to the contents page to see what and where the major reviews and features are. If you aren't impressed, you can slap it back on the shelf and save yourself £1.25. Fair or what? (And what have deadlines got to do with it?)

SJ

READER REVIEWS?

Dear S

I think the magazine is brilliant but I have a few suggestions as well as complaints to make it better:

  1. You should have a section in the magazine where readers can write in and say what they think about a game and what mark they should give it.
  2. I'm sure a lot of readers would like to know what games are coming out in the future.

Bryan Gallon, Northants

  1. This isn't a bad idea - sort of an S Video Box. If you have any pertinent (and preferably short) comments to make about games, write in and we'll see what we can fudge together. And send in a mugshot too.
  2. Yes, I'm sure they would too. Unfortunately, this information is a bit tricky to get hold of, what with release schedules getting altered and stuff. As soon as we hear of anything, it goes straight in the mag.

SJ

SEGA AMIGA

Dear S

I've just purchased a copy of Out Run for the Amiga A500. Well, what I'd like to know is, are all the software titles made by Sega available for the Commodore A500?

A D Johnson, Stoke-on-Trent

Sega don't write the games themselves, but license the name and likeness of the coin-op to software houses who then program and distribute the games themselves (more or less). For instance, Out Run on the Amiga is sold under the US Gold label: they simply bought the rights to produce the computer version from Sega.

Nearly all the good arcade titles eventually get converted, and most of Sega's coin-ops will appear on the Amiga at one time or another -you just have to wait for a software house to pick up the rights. (And by the way, you really wrote to the wrong people. You need our sister mag, Amiga Format - it's the biz).

SJ

SOCKET TO 'EM

Dear S

  1. Is Xenon 2 going to be on the Sega because I absolutely adore this game?
  2. What does the socket on the Master System named A/V OUT do?

Ross Haggis, Hertfordshire

  1. Oh yes indeedly. Programmers at Mirrorsoft are beavering away like mad as you read this (and, of course, you 'll get the first sneak previews within these very pages!).
  2. Nothing - it just sits there. However, since A/V stands for Audio/Video (or something like that) the eight pin DIN socket can be used to plug your Sega into a composite video or RGB monitor. Gosh! (see Scribblings S6 for the full 'how to').

SJ

GAME TROUBLE IN BATH

Dear S

  1. Is there a Sega User Group set up in Bath yet. If so, can I have a telephone number?
  2. Does anyone know how to kill that ugly boss at the end of stage one in R-Type? A brill game, by the way, with fab graphics and incredibly imaginative ideas in there!
  3. Power Strike. How on earth are you supposed to be able to play that? Hectic City! Has anybody got a battery charger for my brain?
  4. Gripes - there's only one shop in Bath where I can buy sega games and that’s John Menzies. And guess how many they have? Yes, one - Ghostbusters! I've never seen more than four in there at any one time, and that was probably around Christmas. Any chance of you guys sorting more games being available in Bath? I have to go to Bristol and when I get there there's so many I can't decide which are the best games to get.
  5. I heard somewhere about Sega games being hired out at video shops? Great idea! Check them out before you fork out the readies. Any chance of this happening in Bath?
  6. I was agonising at Virgins in Bristol over which role playing game to buy. Any suggestions?

Eh Jimbo (well that's what it looks like), Bath

  1. Check out TT's Sega Club section this ish to see where your nearest group is.
  2. Yes - shoot the Droid into its belly and keep blasting.
  3. Try reading the instructions (tipsss coming sssoon - Sly).
  4. Now look - we don't distribute games, OK? We just write the mag. We are Future Publishing, NOT Virgin Mastertronic! Ask them instead.
  5. Ah yes, now. Erm.. well you know that list we had in the last issue.
    Well, some of the video stores didn't seem to know anything about it. Sorry to anyone who was disappointed. We're trying to get another list together - maybe for next issue.
  6. Lucky you! Check out the RPG game feature this ish!

SJ

YS: THE VANISHED GAME

Dear S

Alas! My husband and I are outraged! We were three weeks into the game Ys The Vanished Omens. We were on full strength, we had five of the six books, all our armour, more or (ess everything, and we were in the Temple of Doom fighting the big Boss man. Our quest was nearly over. Can you imagine our horror when we came to play Ys, only to find that it was right back to the beginning. Nothing had been saved.

We had saved the game and used all five lives at various stages. The cartridge had not been exposed to any heat or water etc, and had been placed in its case. Can you please explain why this could have happened. We are so disappointed. Is there anybody we can contact to find out what has gone wrong, or maybe you could help us.

Dawn & Ian Lowe, Stockport

Well, that's a real downer and no mistake! As already mentioned, some RPG's - Ys included - have battery back-ups which enable your current situation to be remembered and stored inside the cartridge. Several things could have happened: the battery may have worn out and is unable to sustain the memory chip; if the cart has had a sudden jolt, maybe the battery contacts have been broken, wiping the memory; or the cart has been near a strong magnetic field (the telly could do it) which has served to wipe the memory that way. Other than that.. er.. I dunno.

If the cartridge now refuses to save any games, your battery has gone and needs replacing. Try telephoning Virgin Mastertronic’s customer services department.

SJ

RAPIDO

Dear S

When I bought my Master System received with it a Rapid Fire Unit, without any instructions. Does this unit work with selected games? What do the two switches labelled 1 and 2 do?

FRD, Lanarkshire

The RFU is a meaty little device that enables you to fire quickly without bustin' your trigger finger or thumb. For instance, if you have a game that fires on button 1 (like Bomber Raid) all you have to do is flick switch 1 to the on position (ie forward), and then press and hold button 1 on the controller. Lo and behold, your plane is firing like crazy without you having to hammer the button! And it's exactly the same for button 2.

The RFU will work on any game, although you can only get a useful result from shoot 'em ups and Light Phaser games (it turns your single shot pistol into the equivalent of a machine gun!).

SJ

MEGA DRIVE MADNESS!

We've had loads of letters asking about the legendary Mega Drive (yawn), so to keep you quiet, here’s the lowdown on the wonder machine everyone wants toown...

The Mega Drive (known as the Genesis in America) is a 16-bit games console, where ’16-bit' refers to the way the central processor (a meaty 68000 chip) handles data. The Master System deals with information in chunks of eight ’bits’, while the Mega Drive can cope with twice that amount. A faster processor speed also means that it can handle the increased information more quickly.

With regard to games, this means better quality graphics: more colours, higher definition, faster scrolling and bigger sprites. Games like Golden Axe, for example, are pretty much arcade perfect (mind you the Master System version was hot potatoes, too!).

The Mega Drive is selling extremely well in Japan and America, where the machine has been around for a good eight to ten months. Virgin Mastertronic, the UK distributors of the Sega Master System and games, expect to start shipping the European Mega Drive (which is incompatible with both the American and Japanese systems) some time toward September of this year. No prices for the console or games have been fixed - as soon as they have we’ll let you know!

If you're worried about junking your Master System collection, don't! The Mega Drive is able to run eight-bit games, via a plug-in adaptor which sits on top of the 16-bit mean machine.

We will cover the Mega Drive in greater detail just before it is released, and you'll find the usual reviews and playing tips for the 16-bit cartridges as and when they appear.

But does this mean that the Master System is being phased out? No way, kiddo! Your machine is selling faster now than it ever has, and will be supported with games - and by S - for years to come. Any more questions?

WOODY POP PADDING

Dear S

  1. I was looking through one of the Sega leaflets, when I saw a game called Woody Pop for use with the Sega Paddle Control. Also, there was Great Ice Hockey and Sports Pad Football for the Sega Sports Pad. What were these?
  2. Are the Sega cards/inexpensive carts really worth buying? If so, how about reviewing them?
  3. Also how about reviewing some two player games?
  4. Who is the top man of the Sega corporation?

Daniel Baker, Durham

  1. A couple of people have written in about this. Woody Pop is a really ancient Breakout-type game, which was released years ago and then fizzled out. It's no longer available so you'll probably find this one cropping up on the Antiques Roadshow in a few years' time. The Paddle Controller works like the rotary controls on the early Breakout and tennis games, but they're not much cop for anything more complicated. The Sega Sports Pad is, quite obviously, a pad, right? Er... instead of a joystick. And this 'pad' is used for, like, sports games. OK? Good, that's got that cleared up. Well, alright, I admit it: I've never heard of them. The nice people from Virgin Mastertronic reckon that these games and peripherals were released for the American market yonks ago, and never saw the light of day over here. It stands a pretty good chance that they never will, now.
  2. The cheaper carts are of varied quality, ranging from pretty damn good to.., well... crap. We might manage a round-up next issue, maybe, but for the time being, your best bets are Enduro Racer, The Ninja, Fantasy Zone, Global Defence and World Grand Prix.
  3. Might do.
  4. Right, for all those who are in the slightest bit interested, the President of Sega Enterprises is Hayao Nakayama. The next two most important guys are K Yagi M D of the consumer division, and T Naito, MD of the finance division. And now you know.

SJ

(Ransom note)

DeAr S

I HAVe CaptuREd ToNY T, i wILL RELease him oNlY iF YOU SeND ME WONDErBOY 3!

Mr X

Oh yeah ? Well, Mr X, if you don't send us your entire Sega collection plus the contents of your Kylie 'emptyhead' money box, we'll let you keep him.

SJ

WEIRDOS STRIKE BACK

Dear S

I'd just like to say that Philip Smith and Robbie Ellmore are not the only weirdos in England: I also like arcade music and have a grand collection of soundtracks. I have Out Run, Shinobi, Ninja Warriors, Chase HQ, Continental Circus, Gemini Wing, After Burner, Silkworm, Rastan Saga and Double Dragon II. If Philip or Robbie want any of those, they can phone me on 0296 29602.

By the way, to get some of these soundtracks, I had to go into an arcade with a tape recorder and hold it up to the speakers (I got some funny looks!).

Stephen Edwards, Aylesbury


GAME TEST

CHASE HQ

COPS 'N' ROBBER BROUGHT BANG UP TO DATE!

PRICE
£29.99
PLAYERS
1
CONTROL
Joypad

(Image captions)

OK schmuck, give me your car keys and I’ll let you go

Powering through the unfinished road section, past the yellow barricades.

Here you are just about to enter the first tunnel section.

Who says crime doesn't play? All the criminals you'll meet here (well, if you can get close enough) are all driving around in Lotuses, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris. Makes you sick, dunnit? Your mission in life is to go round, catch all these drug-dealing, kidnapping murderers and slap ’em in irons. But to stay on their tails you're going to need some heavy-duty kit to keep up. That's where your company car comes in handy: a nice, Police-issue Porsche Turbo should do the job (and any job where the company car is a Porsche Turbo can't be that bad!).

If you haven't worked it all out for yourself by now you're thicker than Duckhams Ultra-thick, but here goes anyway... There you were, having a sneaky kip in the Police Squad car park, when a message comes over the Taito Monitaling System (Japanese translators - don'tcha just luv 'em?). Nancy at Chase headquarters has an emergency on her hands - Ralph, the Idaho Slasher is fleeing toward the suburbs. Time to hit the freeway, and put pedal to metal to stop him from slashing any more Idahos!

HANLE CONTROLLER

Fully compatible with the Handle Controller, Chase HQ is all the better for playing with it. The locations of the fire buttons mean that you can accelerate and operate the turbo boost quite comfortably - better than the Sega Control Stick, anyway.

It's best to use the controller on 'Normal' steering rather than 'Quick' otherwise it becomes a mite over-sensitive. You change gear easily by pushing forward into 'High', and since you tend to push forward anyway, there's no problem with slipping into the wrong gear at a critical moment!

Your Porsche comes with the normal 'blinking nippy' engine, plus three turbo boosts that can be activated at the touch of a button (fire button to be exact). These only last for a few seconds, but accelerate your motor to 'so fast the G-forces will tear your face off speeds. Use it to ram the other guy’s motor, or simply to get off to a quick start when you've collided with roadside obstacles and spun off.

As you tear across the countryside, whizzing along twisting three-lane highways and weaving through the lame Sunday drivers (how come they're all in Lotuses, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris as well?), you come across a fork in the road - oh no! Which way has the slasher gone? Luckily, there's a large white arrow pointing out which is the shortest route to take. Steer right or left (tricky decision, huh?) and get after that creep!

You get 60 seconds to catch up with the crook's motor, and a distance meter shows how far away you are. When you finally catch up with Mister Slasher, you get another 60 seconds to waste his car. Slap on the Starsky And Hutch magnetic flashing light, and kick in the sirens - the chase is on! A smaller red relative of the large white arrow points out which is the hoodlum's car, and now it's up to you: colliding with his flashmobile sees bits fly off, and a red bar creeps along the enemy's damage meter. As you keep bashing his vehicle, it starts to flame and when the meter reds out, his 'mobile grinds to a halt, allowing you to make the arrest!

However, if you're untalented enough to blow it before the big zero appears, you have to use one of your five continue options to carry on the chase. After that, it's... er... another chase. And another, and so on until you've captured all five nasties, including the final Eastern Bloc spy in the mystery car. Once they’re all behind bars, you continue with your old mate Slasher (who’s been released on bail) and work your way through them all again, with different scenery and tougher missions. It’s a hard life being a cop!

(Image captions)

When you reach the fork in the road, as well as an 'orrible flickery junction, you also get a very large arrow hinting at which direction to take...

Here's the first baddie, the one with the big red arrow stuck in his roof!

VERDICT

Taito's coin-op conversion couldn’t hope to keep up with the visuals of the original, but they still aren't quite as good as you'd expect. The scenery scrolls by smoothly enough, but it's all brightly coloured and very simple. There are a few roadside objects such as telegraph poles, trees and danger signs, and at least the opposing cars are recognisable - you can even tell the Lotuses from the Lambos!

Road forks are achieved in the same way as in Out Run, where the two routes rapidly switch between one another, giving a horrible flickery junction. Ugly, but effective. The tunnel sequences are well executed - very tunnelly - and the driving-across-the-abandoned-worksite-and-knocking-down-the-yellow-hurdles bit is in there too, but while adding some visual variety, neither part really adds much to the gameplay.

However good or bad the visuals are though, you will no doubt be dumbfounded at how poo the sound is: it's diabolical. The theme tune is weedy and the incessant siren will have you grasping for the volume control. And what happened to all that juicy sampled speech? Phut - that's what!

Race 'n' chase fans are well spoiled now that they have both Battle Out Run AND Chase HQ to choose from. However, if it had to be a toss-up between this and Battle Out Run, Chase HQ calls 'heads' when it's tails. Taito's offering might have the big name coin-op behind it, but without the realistic arcade graphics and a final set objective, it does tend to grow boring more quickly than it's Sega counterpart. It's dead easy to cruise through the first five stages, and then things just start again from the first stage, but trickier and with different colour schemes.

There’s also that indefinable quality about BOR that sets it apart. CHQ seems to be a tad less thrilling - not quite so fast 'n' adrenalin-pumping. Still, if you were one of those people who pumped all their spare change into the arcade machine, you won't be so that disappointed!

BOLT-ON GOODIES

At the start of the game and in between arrests you get to modify your Porsche with the money earned from the previous mission. To start off with, you can select to play with automatic or manual transmission (whether you want to change gear, or let the Sega do it for you); and choose the type of steering from 'Normal' or 'Quick'.

Once you've lined your pockets with cash from the bust, you can supe-up your already moderately suped-up vehicle, by adding oil (it always helps), an extra turbo boost (to add to the three you get), a super charger (very useful, but brain-meltingly expensive), a tyre (four would be better, but what the heck), and a new bumper (all the better for battering the cons with!).

These wonderfully speed-and-damage-inducing gadgets come in handy for the next chase, but all fall off once the crook's in the bag: after that, you have to buy them all over again!

S RATINGS

GRAPHICS
80%

▲ Great approaching tunnel (and tunnel exit, come to that

▲ Opposing cars are recognisably well drawn and nicely animated

▲ Good update on roadside objects, and on-road hazards

▼ Basic 'kiddyland' scenery borders on the amateur

▼ Road moves smoothly enough, but isn't as realistic as it could be

SOUND
38%

▲ Nice power whine when you kick in the turbos!

▼ Tinkly soundtrack is feeble and ill-suited to the high-speed gameplay

▼ Anyone looking forward to the sampled speech and screams of the original will be sadly disappointed...

▼ The repetitive and puny siren effect is destined to get right on your nerves!

DEPTH
51%

▼ Plenty of courses, but they're all fairly similar

▼ Strategic purchase of equipment is about all the brain exercise you'll get here!

ADDICTION
74%

▲ High speed chase is good fun - and totalling the convicts' car even better!

▲ Each stage is pretty much the same as the last

▲ Continue option helps keep the wheels spinning

▼ With no definite objective to aim for, it soon grows repetitive

S-FACTOR
70%

Slightly disappointing conversion, lacking the 'umph' of the original. Still very good - but not ultimate.


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BACK ISSUES

If you missed out on the early issues of S, back issues are now available for the measly sum of £1.50 per copy (£1.25 cover price plus 25p p & p).

Issue 1 Reviews of Wonderboy III, Wanted and Casino Games. What's inside your Sega. Tony Takoushi's Top Ten. Tips for the ten best-selling games. Super Monaco Grand Prix at the arcades. Full players' guide to Y's: The Vanished Omens.

Issue 2 Reviews of Spellcaster, Tennis Ace, Cloud Master, American Baseball, American Pro Football, Alex Kidd: High-Tech World and Ghostbusters. A look at Sega's system 24 coin-op, plus previews of E-SWAT and Line Of Fire. The first half of a full solution to Phantasy Star. Xmas goodies.

Issue 3 Reviews of Galaxy Force, Psycho Fox, Dead Angle, Dynamite Dux and Basketball Nightmare. Conclusion of Phantasy Star guide. E-SWAT players' guide. Tips on Alex Kidd In Miracle World, R-Type, Choplifter and Space Harrier.

Issue 4 Reviews of Golden Axe and Scramble Spirits. Las Vegas CES show report. Past Masters reviews of R-Type and Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars. Full players' guide to Wonderboy III and Alex Kidd: High-Tech World.

Issue 5 Reviews of Assault City, RC Grand Prix and Slap Shoot. Past Masters reviews of Alien Syndrome, Space Harrier and Power Strike. S checks out the first games to be coded in Britain. Full players' guide to Golvellius and Miracle Warriors!

Issue 6 Reviews of Battle Out Run and World Games. Past Masters reviews of Cyborg Hunter, Spy Vs Spy and Rastan. Mega joystick round-up. Previews of Indiana Jones and Paperboy. Spellcaster solved! Coin-op check-out: Shadow Dancer. Lord of the Sword solution. And much more (good cover, too)!

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PAST MASTERS

GAME TEST

CAPTAIN SILVER

PRICE
£29.99
PLAYERS
1
CONTROL
Joypad

The legendary Captain Silver, as well as being a rogue and a rapscallion, a ne'er do well, scourge of-the waveways and the scurviest knave ever to sail the seven seas, was also a forgetful old boot. Having plundered hundreds of ships and collected enough jewels and dosh to sink the Bismark, the silly berk buried it all on a deserted island in the Eastern Seas - and promptly forgot where it was. He spent the last tortured years of his life searching Antarctic wastes for his retirement money - a good ten thousand miles from its true location - and popped his clogs as poor as Russian potato-herder.

The only other person who knows the location of the treasure is Captain Silver's trusted cabin boy, Jim. He was there when Cap'n Saliva dumped the loot on the desert island, and then helped send Captain amnesia completely off the trail. And now that old one-eye has finally pillaged his last, Jim can make his way back to the sun and sand, to the large black 'X' and absolute riches. Devious little git.

Jim lad's six-stage quest takes him from the town of Barsend, through the innards of a pirate ship, by boat to Captain Silver's island, through a cave system, through the jungle and finally to the mountain location of the treasure - and Jim has to fight every inch of the way!

(Image caption) Deep in the bowels of the ship and under attack from scurvy pirates!

As the scenery scrolls past, he get accosted by all sorts of creatures, some of which look like they've got into the wrong game by mistake. As well as the normal run of pirates (large and small), seagulls, fish, savages, crabs, man-eating plants and wild animals, you also get to take on large wolves in clothes, vampire bats, witches, pumpkin-heads, dragons and even a Cheshire cat!

Our hero is armed with a cutlass to despatch these odd adversaries, and as each creature gets its comeuppance they leave behind green cards which are either blank or bear a letter. Both types are collected for gold pieces, but letter cards are also used to build up the name of ’Captain Silver' in return for extra lives.

Jim's attack strength can be increased by collecting or buying sprites. These small fairy-types float on-screen, and when touched imbue Jim's sword with the ability to shoot magic stars. Up to three sprites can be collected, providing a deathdealing barrage of five stars.

As the gold is stashed away, you may also enter shops that crop up at intervals (inside treasure chests and as large buildings marked 'Shop') to buy more sprites, plus boots (temporary mega-leaps), herbs (one-hit shields), and a clock (extra time to finish the level).

(Image caption) The first Boss to be beaten is this pumpkin-head-dropping blue witch!

At the end of each scene, there is a guardian creature who Jim has to blast or run through with his blade (several times) before proceeding with the treasure hunt. Jim's ultimate fate lies in the hands of the ghost of Captain Silver himself, who has finally found his booty and decided that if he can't have it, nobody will...

VERDICT

Presumably, this Data East game is a conversion from a 1987 coin-op - although we’ve never heard of it!

The action is pretty unimpressive to start off with: the sound is a bit naff, the graphics are plain and the gameplay looks really boring - if you saw it running in a shop, you wouldn't give it a second glance.

Once you get into the swing of things, though, CS offers a pretty tough challenge. The opponents are vicious, and while the jolly cartoon graphics make it look like kid’s stuff, this is one tough hombre!

Gameplay is solidly in the Rastan mould of jump 'n' slash, but while there's less emphasis on pixel-perfect leaps, your reactions have to be just as fast or you’ll soon end up back on the title screen!

Because the game is quite tricky, and there aren’t any continue options, CS becomes infuriatingly addictive! If you don’t mind too much how your games look and sound, then check this one out - you might be pleasantly surprised!

S RATINGS

GRAPHICS
67%

▲ Cartoon-style characters are big, bold and flicker free!

▲ Backdrops are colourful and nicely detailed, if a bit uninteresting

▼ Some spirtes are poorly drawn and hobble around unconvincingly

SOUND
38%

▲ There are loads of nice tinkly noises when you collect goodies

▼ Single soundtrack is a bit wimpy and gets on your wick after a while

▼ Sampled death scream is muffled and sounds pathetic

▼ Jim’s jump is accompanied by a painful ’crunching' sound

▼ Swordswipe sounds like a cat dying painfully!

DEPTH
64%

▲ Within the six stages there are several mazy levels to explore

▲ You'll have to plan your tactics carefully to reach the treasure

▼ Jump 'n' hack gameplay isn't too much to get excited about

ADDICTION
75%

▲ Tough mission is unputdownable!

▲ With a long ’n’ tricky quest, you'd be pushed to finish this in a week

▼ No continue option means that you gradually tire of playing the early levels over and over again

S-FACTOR
70%

Addictive despite it's plain looks and ordinary gameplay. Not a world beater, but fun.


PAST MASTERS

GAME TEST

BOMBER RAID

PRICE
£29.99
PLAYERS
1
CONTROL
Joypad

Time to leap into your bomber for a bit of raiding. As if you hadn’t guessed, this golden oldie is a vertical scroller with the emphasis on destruction. Your mission is set over five stages, each one having it’s own specific enemy target (ie end-of-level Boss!). You are shown a blueprint of the offending hardware, and then it’s off into the wide (but not very blue) yonder.

Your yondering takes you on a low level flight over enemy territory, littered with installations, ships, tanks and masses of airborne craft (but hopefully not for long!).

(Image captions)

Give 'im a good tanking!

A stonking great battleship - and it's only level 1!

Your plane is a pretty special bomber in that it doesn’t actually carry any bombs as such (well, not the black, finned drop-out-of-the-sky variety anyway). What it does have though is three cluster bomb devices which fire an expanding circle of little red bomblets across the screen, cutting a swathe through the enemy forces and bringing instant death to the foe. Ha-ha haaa!

For your umpteen billion pounds, though, you do also get an upgradable forward firing blaster plus some bolt-on goodies to make life that little bit easier. But if you want 'em you gotta catch 'em! Shoot Power Pods to release tokens, and collect the tokens for extra firepower: you get the idea...

Having tooled up and become suitably hard, it only remains for you to blaze your way through the five levels, reach the final target (a top secret craft, with destructive capabilities of trouser-browning proportions), blow it to bits - and then start all over again from level 1!

POWER UPS

Spinning Power Pods frequently appear on screen, and are blasted to reveal one of three tokens or a baddie...

GREEN P - Catching the P symbols gradually steps up the power of the blaster until it finally releases a wall of fire about 80 Ps later!

GREEN S - Get an S and (as well as the best console mag in the world - plug, plug) you’ll get a partial speed-up. Collect lots and you'll get a pretty nippy bomber!

RED 1 - Collect red tokens to earn yourself up to two escort fighters, flying in formation and firing in unison with the bomber. You can alter the shape of the formation and direction of fire of the two fighters, by shooting the red token as it drops. Each hit cycles through the numbers 1 to 4, and each number represents a different formation:

  1. On either side, firing directly left and right.
  2. Forward, firing diagonally ahead.
  3. Behind, firing diagonally back.
  4. Both in line behind the bomber, firing left and right.

BADDIE - Nasty pointy spinny thing. Sizzle that mutha' before it bounces around the screen and collides with your plane!

(Image caption) Full firepower and twin fighters!`

VERDICT

It stands a chance that you’ve already got a vertical scroller - so why should you buy this one too? Well, for starters, Bomber Raid has some pretty wild power-ups, heaps of vicious enemies after your neck. In full flow the action gets really intense, and this is heightened by some punchy sound effects.

The opposition is fairly standard stuff, but there are just one or two surprise combos which keep you guessing! The guardian craft are fairly tough, although they just wobble around and shoot- nothing that interesting or unusual. The scenery is well drawn and nicely detailed with enough variety to stop things becoming yawnsome.

Basically, Bomber Raid is a very competent shoot 'em up: tough and plenty of fun. It won’t take that long to finish the final mission, but it does continue again from the first level for all you high score freaks!

S RATINGS

GRAPHICS
68%

▲ Smart backdrops with detailed and varied scenery

▲ Nice animation on your plane as it rolls from side to side

▲ Good explosions - for a change!

SOUND
69%

▲ Heavy explosion and gun effects really add power to your punch!

▼ Stupidly jolly 'hero-flying-to-his-inevitable-doom' music plods along in the background

▼ One soundtrack for the whole mission, plus upbeat panic-inducing tune during Boss sequences

DEPTH
74%

▲ Five missions, with mid-level meanies and end-of-level Bosses

▲ You need to plan your attack tactically, selecting support squadrons to suit the action

ADDICTION
85%

▲ Blood pounding blasting action - with a few novel twists!

▲ The lack of continues means that it should take a while before completing (but not too long)

▲ Plenty of variety in enemy formations, installations and Boss craft to keep you on your toes

▼ First four levels don’t offer any really hefty opposition

S-FACTOR
82%

Good, hectic blasting action! A snazzy shoot ’em up, which deserves a slot in every blaster fan's collection.


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FOR SALE

Sega games. Power Strike, Alex Kidd, Lost Stars, Alien Syndrome, Enduro Racer, Time Soldiers, Ghost House, Super Tennis and Teddy Boy. Cards £8 Carts £14. Tom, Northants (0327) 51685.

Three games for sale. Great Golf = £12.50 Choplifter = £12.50 Alex Kidd: High Tech World = £14. Call Grant on 031 445 4079.

Master System Plus. 8 games, plus Light Phaser and 3 games, Rapid Fire Unit. Sell for £218. Neil Morris 9, Deiniol Ave, Marchwiel, Wrexham, Clwyd, Wales. Tel: Wrexham 366022.

For sale: Sega games. Rocky, Alex Kidd The Lost Stars, and Golvellius for £10 each or all for £25. Also available for good swaps. Phone Daniel 0637 877398 after 4pm.

Sega Master, seven games including Quartet, Action Fighter, Wonder Boy III, Penguin Land, Fire Unit worth £230 sell for £115 phone Wayne 01 350 1621.

Sega Mega Drive games for sale Alex Kidd £20 Kujakuoh 2 £25. Prices include P+P or would consider swapping for other MD games Tel: (0443) 431995 Anytime.

Sega Master System, excellent condition over 8 games including Rastan, Shinobi, Double Dragon, Altered Beast and a Quick Shot II Joystick. Worth £320 but sell for £170. Can come lower. Ring on 0332 31071 after 6pm.

Eight games for sale including After Burner, Out Run 3D, Golvellius, Ghost House, Kenseiden, and Great Basketball. Prices from £8 to £15. Contact Steve at 29 Greenfield Park, Portishead, Avon.

For sale - Altered Beast, World Soccer, Rastan, Double Dragon games. All bought from Virgin. £20 for 1 game, £75 for all of them. Please call me on Newhaven, East Sussex 516302.

Thunder Blade, Action Fighter, and Wonderboy all for only £45 or £15 each. Phone Peter Murphy 0494 21743, after 4pm, thank you.

For sale! Sega games After Burner £20 or swap for California Games. I will also chuck in a fiver with After Burner, for California Games swap. Cheers. Ask for Mark, 0634 826817.

Master System and Light Phaser with 6 games (2 built in) for sale. £125. Ring Huddersfield 424921 after 6pm. Please ask for Bobby. Everything boxed with instructions.

Sega Master System for sale hardly used, brand new and boxed with Light Phaser, control pads, joystick Hang On and Safari Hunt. Super deal phone Stuart on 01 951 1092. £70.

Sega Master System with two control pads 8 games including Out Run, Alex Kid 1, After Burner, R-Type etc excellent condition worth £250 price £150. Ring Ian on Manchester 881 7399.

Sega System for sale £516 o.n.o. Includes over 20 games and joystick. Games include After Burner, Out Run, Galaxy Force, World Soccer, Rocky and many more. Call Gordon on Auchterarder, Tayside (0764) 62079.

Master System and 11 games plus joystick, 2 Rapid Fire Units. All boxed, good condition, sale for £200 original price £385. Tel 0272 353604.

Sega Light Phaser for sale. Hardly used. £15, will sell for less. Phone 051 264 7261 after 4.30pm ask for Ste.

Cheap Sega games for sale inc-After Burner, Black Belt, Pyscho Fox and Wonderboy II. Will swap and buy games. Please ring Lee on 061 442 4697.

Will sell or swap: Captain Silver, Secret Command or Double Dragon. Any games considered, especially Vigilante, R-Type or Power Strike. Prices from £10-15. All games in good condition. Ring 0234 853468.

For sale Sega Master System. Fully Boxed and in excellent condition comes with three games and a bargain at £75.00 o.n.o. Tel: 021 722 2259 and ask for Steve.

Games for sale. Bank Panic Card £8, Ghost House Cartridge £8, Alex Kidd: High Tech World £15, ring Ruchden (0933) 56074 between 7pm and 8.30pm.

After Burner or Cyborg Hunter £15 each, or will swap for any decent game. Tel 061 431 8598 Eves.

Light Gun for sale. With Combination Shooting Cartridge, Rambo III. All boxed and in good condition sell for £40 or swap for £20 and Psycho Fox or any other game. 0454 415242, ask for Paul.

For sale Master System, 13 games Light Phaser, SG Commander, Control Stick, Rapid Fire Unit, games Rambo III, Out Run, Ghostbusters, After Burner, Shinobi and more all for £300. Call 061 707 3906.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Originally £35 will sell for £25. Ring Adam on 01 445 3222 no later than 6.30pm.

Cheap Sega Games on offer. Send a self addressed envelope for an ace list to: Ryan Jones 25 Ascot Drive, Atherton, Manchester M29 9LH. All in good condition, full instructions.

Sega Master System (3 months old), 4 games, mags. All in excellent condition and boxed as new. For £105 o.n.o. Phone Mark 0458 72662 after 6.30pm.

For sale: Spellcaster, brand new £20 was £30. Wonderboy III £18. Ghost House £7. Transbot £7. All in good condition call Jonathan on 01 958 9840. From 4-7pm.

Master System and Light Phaser + 21 games includes Golden Axe, Out Run, Double Dragon and Thunder Blade. All in perfect condition. Sell for £200. Tel Watford 662516, ask for Roy.

For sale Power Strike Brand new 2 months old 20 pounds O.N.O.. Will swap for Time Soldiers or Light Phaser phone 0222 596296 after 5pm.

Sega Master System six games (three for gun) Light Phaser, Rapid Fire Unit paid £200 plus want £100 phone 03752 5991. Console bought early 1989.

Bargain Sega Console for sale including Light Phaser plus ten games, Shinobi, Psycho Fox, Wonder Boy 3. Worth £80. Will sell for £200 o.n.o. Good condition, contact Mark: 021 373 3597.

For sale Alien Syndrome, Captain Silver, Rambo III, Rastan, Shinobi, £12.50 each Rampage, World Soccer £5.00 each (no instructions) must sell. Tel: 0603 760934.

Sega Master System, over 25 games, 2 joypads, 1 joystick, Accelerator Pedal, and Rapid Fire Unit, mint condition, boxed as new, worth over £650, sell for £300 o.n.o. Tel: 0732 849227.

Master System + Control Stick with eight Classic Cartridges boxed as new. Offer £175 + postage if required. Call Dave on 03302 4026.

Thunder Blade, Alex Kidd III boxed as new £12.00/£15.00 or swap for Time Soldiers, Shinobi or Altered Beast. Please phone 0926 336097 after 6.00pm. Ask for Julian.

Time Soldiers in perfect condition for £15 call Saif on 0722 26831 or write to: 14 Owlswood, Ridings Mead Estate, Salisbury, Wilts SP2 8DN.

Sega Master System including 11 games and £100 or cheque cash for A 500 or will sell Sega for £150. Games include Altered Beast, Great Golf, World Soccer, Great Baseball contact Jason on 0293 515037.

Sega for sale. Boxed as new, Light Phaser and two control sticks. 27 games including Phantasy Star, California Games and Wonderboy 2 £255 o.n.o.. Contact Symon on 0246 419308 after 4pm.

For sale. Teddy Boy, £8, Space Harrier £12, Out Run £12, Black Belt £10, and Light Phaser with three games £25, or will swap them. Call Keith Earwicker 0243 603066.

Black Belt, Kung Fu Kid and Double Dragon for sale £10 each. Hardly used, with box and instructions. Call David on 0202 733442 Mon to Fri after 4pm thanks.

Sega Master System, Konix joystick, Light Phaser 3D glasses Out Run (3D), World Grand Prix, Missile Command (3D). Bought March 1990 receipts available phone 01 397 6158. £140 the lot.

Sega Master System + Light Phaser and Sega joystick, one game. Must go soon, offers, ask for Gary 0635 49433, Newbury, Berks after 6pm.

Sega Master System plus. With Light Phaser, two joypads, one joystick and a RFU with £260 of software altogether worth £400 will sell for £250. Phone 0272 792680, buyer collects.

Spectrum, three joysticks, mags over £350 of software including Chase HQ, Carrier Command + Many more. Worth over £570 sell for £300 o.n.o. Contact Bryan Metson 3 Van Dyke Place, St. Ives. Huntigdon, Cambs PE17 6HD.

Galaxy Force for sale £15 o.n.o. Phone Chris on 0763 71092 after 5pm.

Four Sega games for sale, Wonderboy III, Galaxy Force, Basketball Nightmare, American Baseball each £18 or all for £60 May consider swapping. If interested telephone Mark on 0383 830389 after 4pm.

Sega Master System and six games including Wonderboy III, Phantasy Star, Kenseiden all for £150. So if you're interested please tel Joann Brady on 01 679 1799 (at Hertz reservation).

Sega games for sale! 9 games inch Rampage, Rastan, Out Run, Alien Syndrome, Between £10-£20 phone Camberley (0276) 27671 ask for Mark. Got itl Good! Also for sale Sega System.

Sega Master System with 16 cartridges including Golden Axe, Wonderboy 3, R-Type, Phantasy Star, Rastan, 4 months old, worth £500 sell £250 bargain! Write to Cris 207 Gloucester Place, London NW1.

Sega Mega Drive, pal. Including joypad and 5 games: World Soccer, Golden Axe, Ghouls and Ghosts etc. Worth £395 sell for £250 o.n.o. Phone Neil after 6pm, 061 681 9037.

Six Sega games in mint condition selling at £80 or £10-18 each: Dynamite Dux, Galaxy Force, Psycho Fox, Shinobi, Spy Vs Spy, Wonderboy 3, Contact David on Southampton (0703) 473450.

Free Spectrum 128K +2A with joystick, books, mags and manual. Free when you buy £400 of software for only £250. Make cheques payable to P. Best Haven Dyffyn, Gwynedd LL44 2BH or 03416673.

Wanted (£10.00) Cyborg Hunter (£10.00) After Burner (£10.00). These games can be sold on their own or all three for £25.00. Tel: 0635 64131.

Sega Master System + control stick, control pad, Light Phaser. 7 games including Double Dragon, R-Type Wonderboy III. Sell for £170, phone Alex, Neasden (01 452) 1356.

Rampage and Rastan cartridges for sale. £15 each, or £28 for both. Ring 0562 885799, preferably after 6pm on a week day.

Sega Master System for sale with Light Phaser and ten games including Rocky, Great Football, Great Basketball and Alex Kidd, Lost Stars, all leads including box. £90, ring Paul 061 336 2404.

Will sell Black Belt, Alex Kidd L.S. for £13 each or both of them together for £23. Or swap both for Rastan or American Pro Football. Ring 0462 850414 and ask for Russell. After 6pm.

Master System, Light Phaser, 3-D Glasses, Rapid fire unit, four cartridges, Rambo III, Missile Defence, Rescue Mission, Combo cartridge. All for £95. Contact A. Dawson 21 Beagle Close, Abingdon, Oxon. 0235 529596.

3 great games at a bargain prices! Spellcaster, Y's and Wonderboy 3, Excellent condition, instructions included. Only £16 each! Recorded postage included. Ring 0484 515322 after 6pm.

For sale. Double Dragon and Altered Beast £35 both. Andrew Boyle 33 Northwood Road, Harefield Middlesex UB9 6PL. Tel: 0895 822684 after 5pm ask for Andy.

Sega games for sale. Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Out Run, Enduro Racer, Y's Vanished Omens, California Games, Rampage, Time Soldiers. Sega Broken need to sell £15-£25 o.n.o. Phone 0383 880087 Alex.

Sega games for sale Shinobi, Altered Beast, Wonderboy in Monsterland, After Burner, Spy Vs Spy £13 each may change Contact: Neil 0268 753105.

Sega Master System with control pads and control stick plus games including Cyborg Hunter, California Games, Casino Games, After Burner, Out Run, will sell separate. Contact Mark on Aberdare 877483 after 5pm.

Eleven games inc. After Burner, Out Run etc. £10-18 each. Also console with pair of Speedking joystix, £50 Phone John on 0232 797640 after 6pm.

Master System, two control pads Hang On, World Soccer, Great Basketball, Double Dragon, Shinobi, Transbot, mint condition, all boxed will sell for £125, phone Nima, tel: 01 361 3507 or swap for Mega Drive.

Mega Drive games for sale. £20 each. Ring Dave on Bridgend 767926. Also wanting to contact anyone in vicinity to set up user group.

HELP!

Help wanted on Wonderboy 3. I can get Piranha-Man and return to Central Village but where do you go after that? Call Paul after 5.00 on 051 356 3895.

In Miracle Warriors I've found the key to heaven but need locations to Hell and Earth please help. Thankyou. Call Andrew Finney on 061 449 0373.

Has anyone finished Phantasy Star? If so please contact me immediately, I've been playing it for 3 months and am going crazy! The Prism, where do you use it? 0258 454446..

I'd like some help on Phantasy Star on how to find the exact place the hovercraft is, After Burner some advice, The Ninja all five scrolls. Tel: Amir Khawaja, Thorpe Bay, Essex 587 385.

Beginner needs help! Alex Kidd in High Tech World. Can't find last piece of paper on stage one. Please help! Write or phone! 0603 760934, 43 Dell Crescent, Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QB.

Could somebody please help me in the town on Alex Kidd In Hi Tech World. Contact James after 4pm. Except weekends when you can phone anytime, on 0983 506529.

Can someone please give me the hack for Shinobi and how to beat Oni the forth level leader in Black Belt. If so ring David on 0202 733442.

I would like some help on Y's and Rambo III because I always get beaten at these games tel: Dyfed 850023.

I can only find 7 pieces of map in Alec HTW, Parents, Mary, Servants Kitchen James, Library, Tom and Mark. Help me, I want to get out of the castle. Tel Exeter 73574.

Please could I have help as possible on how to get the bottom left hand corner of map in Alex Kid III. Please Write 195 Station Rd, Lower Stondon Bedfordshire, SG16 6JE.

SWAPS

For swaps: Kenseiden Transbot, My Hero, Fantasy Zone II, for Shinobi Time Soldiers, World Soccer or any other good games call Toby on: Nelson (0282) 692222 between 7-8pm any day.

Willing to swap Tennis Ace or Ghost Busters for Rastan, Wonderboy 1-3 or Vigilante. A. Camacho 12 Herbert Street, Stretford, Manchester M32 OHD.

Will swap my games for yours I have Alex Kidd 1 and 3, Out Run, Shinobi, Galaxy Force, Double Dragon Fantasy Zone 2, Choplifter and Aztec Adventure call Eliot on Warrington (0925) 58834.

Please will somebody swap me two games for Alien Syndrome and Shinobi! As long as they do not need Light Phaser. Tel 0730 66881.

I would like to swap Gangster Town and My Hero for Basketball, Nightmare or Power Strike. Call Robert after 4.30pm on 0422 357802.

Will swap Wonderboy for Shinobi. May swap Rampage instead. Also contacts wanted. I am 13. Contact Chris on 0225 743727 after 8pm on weekdays.

Three great games to swap R-Type, Spellcaster, Galaxy Force to swap for Fantasy Zone II, Aztec Adventure, Altered Beast, Rastan call Adam on 0532 842833 Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Will swap Rampage or After Burner for Basketball Nightmare, Ghostbusters, Tennis Ace or any other games on negotiation. Contact Stuart on Nazeing (0992) 892849.

Anyone has R-Type, Rampage or Psycho Fox. I will swop for California Games, Kung Fu Kid or Enduro Racer. Phone 0604 719524.

I am the owner of a Mega Drive and I wish to swap North Star for Space Harrier II, Thunder Force III or Atomic Robo Kid. Can you please help! Call Chris on 061 740 0607.

I will swap my Wonderboy 3, Black Belt, Time Soldiers, for Psycho Fox, Alex Kidd Miracle World, Wonderboy 2 or almost any other platform game contact Gareth on 0685 89552.

I will swap my Ghost House or Out Run for Shinobi or Great Basketball. Please call James, Ramsgate, Kent (0843)586685.

1 will swap Double Dragon for Rastan, Psycho Fox, Golden Axe or Wonderboy III. Must be in brill condition with booklet like Double Dragon. Phone Alan on 0480 454689.

Will swap Golvellius and Shinobi for Psycho Fox, Ghostbusters Phantasy Star, Aztec Adventure Basketball Nightmare, Y's, Dynamite Dux or The Ninja Please write before sending a game. 17 Golden Ave. Sandfeilds, Port Talbot SA12 7RR.

Will swap Penguin Land, Casino Games, Enduro Racer, Captain Silver for Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Psycho Fox, Monopoly, Cyborg Hunter any of those. Ask for Mark, 2 Oatland Close, Little London, Leeds. 0532 458441.

Will swap Captain Silver, Double Dragon, Thunder Blade for Golden Axe or sell for £15 tel: 061 633 3713.

Swap your games! I will swap Altered Beast or Wonderboy 3 for any of the Fantasy Zone series or just about any other games. Phone John on 041 638 8931. Byee!

Brand new, Dead Angle for Sega. Like to swap for Cloud Master, Dynamite Dux or American Pro Football. Contact: Lee, 30 Turnfield Rd, Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 1JQ. Tel: 061 428 7734.

I would like to swap Rocky, Rastan or After Burner for either World Soccer, California Games or any other games please contact me now. 0786 833963 and ask for Alastair.

Will swap any of these games for Golden Axe: Enduro Racer, Wonder Boy, Bank Panic, Altered Beast, My Hero, Kung Fu Kid, Double Dragon, Thunder Blade. Contact: Paul after 5pm: 061 368 7569.

Willing to swap! Double Dragon, After Burner, Spy vs Spy, Choplifter, Ghost House for any other games preferably Wonderboy II or Enduro Racer. Call Mike after 6pm 041 639 7876. Thanks.

Shinobi for swop any cartridge, no Light Gun or Glasses games. Games like Golden Axe, Rastan, Shanghai etc. Write to Simon, 5 Glen Clova Place, Montrose, Scotland DD10 9AL.

I will swap Altered Beast for another good game. Or sell for £13.95. Please contact me from 5.30pm and phone Matthew on 01 720 8969.

Will swap Casino Games for Wonderboy II or Alex Kidd in High Tech World or R-Type. Please ring Barnet, Herts 440 7614.

I will swap my Enduro Racer for Altered Beast or Wonderboy III. Phone Chesterfield 866315.

I want to swap Double Dragon for Spellcaster. Ring Marcus on 07456 87927 between 5pm and 8pm.

Does anyone want to swap R-Type, Wonderboy or Space Harrier for my Vigilante or Rocky. If interested phone Dean on 01 254 6257.

I will swap Rastan, Shinobi or American Pro Football for Galaxy Force, Golvellius, Space Harrier, Time Soldiers or World Soccer. Call Chris after 5pm on 0742 653822.

I will swap Global Defence, Golvellius for California Games, Wonder Boy 3, Spellcaster, Lord of the Sword, Golden Axe, Rampage, Ghostbusters or any other good game. Ring Julian 0925 810715.

I will swap my Light Phaser (boxed) for a game preferably Phantasy Star. Plus other games to swap inc Golvellius, Lord of the Sword, World Grand Prix etc. Ring 01 519 5510 before 6pm.

I will swap my Zillion 2 and Altered Beast for two of these three games: California Games, R-Type, Rastan. Ring me in Huddersfield on 0484 548748 at 6-9pm.

I'll swap After Burner for any Alex Kidd game or Dead Angle. After Burner is neat condition write to me at 121 Angus Avenue, Cardonld, Glasgow G52 3HB.

Swap my Power Strike, Space Harrier, Astro Warrior for Y's Kenseiden, Phantasy Star other games considered, will add cash if necessary. Contact Jim Bath 423205

I will swap my Alex Kidd, The Lost Stars for Out Run, Wonder Boy one or Fantasy Zone two. Call Joe after 6pm on 0323 39349.

I will swap Alex Kidd, High Tech World for anyone who has Basketball Nightmare or American Pro Baseball. Must be in good condition. Jay Honosutomo, 23 Tintagel Close, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 6NL.

I have got After Burner would anyone like to swap with me for Double Dragon, Dynamite Dux or Rambo III. If so please ring Michael on 0206 396882.

Anyone in B'Ham area, willing to swap Double Dragon for Shinobi interested phone 021 426 2372 ask for Dean.

Will swap Hang On, Gangster Town, Rambo Three, After Burner etc. for your games. Looking for Shinobi and Thunder Blade. Please phone 0236 875389 after 6pm Mon-Fri.

I will swap my Space Harrier, After Burner, F-16, World Soccer, Super Tennis any games considered or Alex Kidd games. Phone 0883 712 644 after 4pm ask for James.

I will swap my R-Type, My Hero, Spy Vs Spy, for either Spellcaster or Golden Axe. Please write to me at 47 Lower White Road, Quinton, B'Ham B32 2RT.

I will swap Cyborg Hunter, Shinobi or Double Dragon for Wonderboy II, Thunder Blade or California Games tel 2452 23330.

Will swap Double Dragon for Spy Vs Spy, Shinobi, Basketball Nightmare, Golden Axe or Rampage tel: 01 435 7383.

Thunder Blade for swap. Swap for any decent game. Tel: Geoff on 0222 621065.

Will swap Pro Football, Double Dragon, Galaxy Force, Vigilante, Thunder Blade, plus more for any other games under negotiation, phone Ian on 0582 760437.

I want to swap my After Burner for some one's Shinobi. Call me on 0752 263839 ask for Simon after 4pm.

Will swap Double Dragon for R-Type, Dynamite Dux or Space Harrier. Spy Vs Spy for Transbot. Rampage for Spellcaster, Wonderboy III, Ghostbusters or Pro Football. Phone 0792 883052 after 4pm.

I will swap my After Burner for Wonderboy in Monster Land or Wonderboy III contact me on Penmaenmawr Gwyned 623649.

For swaps. I'll swap either Miracle Warriors, Space Harrier, Golf, Soccer, or Wonderboy for California Games or Altered Beast. Call Steve Between 4pm and 7pm on 0925 724918.

I want to swap Lord of The Sword for Wonderboy I if possible or nearly any other game. Write to Lee 36 Cae Clyd Parc, Clarence, Craig i Don, North Wales.

I would like to swap Rampage for Double Dragon, Golden Axe or California Games phone and ask for James 06333 872998.

To swap Ghostbusters, Wonderboy and Capt Silver for Double Dragon, Alien Syndrome or any games I haven't got. Phone Wayne on 061 681 9432 after 6pm.

I will swap my Space Harrier or After Burner for Wonderboy in Monsterland, Altered Beast or Dynamite Dux. Phone Andrew Between 5pm and 6.30pm on 0752 344701.

I will swap my T/Blade, Rampage, S/Harrier for any good sports games any other games as well. Tel Chris on 0648 31705 Any day after 6.00pm.

I will swap my Golden Axe for Altered Beast, Rastan, Space Harrier and Zillion Two. Phone Ahmed on 0722 26831. Write to: 14 Owlswood, Ridings Mead Estate, Salisbury SP2 8DN.

I will swap Lord Of The Sword for either Time Soldiers, World Soccer, or Wonder Boy in Monsterland. Call Adrian on 0238 532729 after 4.00pm.

I will swap my Psycho Fox for either, Spellcaster, Power Strike, or Vigilante. Phone Saif on 0722 26831 or Write to 14 Owlswood Ridings Mead Estate, Salisbury SP2 8DN.

MISC.

Out Run original arcade music send me audio cassette + £1.50 Peter Smith, 45 Winterborne Road, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 1AL.

Sega mode! Bi-monthly newsletter/fanzine inc tips news and reviews. Only £4 for 6 issues + 1 free. Also Pilot issue free. To Andrew Hudson 6 Albermarle Rd, St Ives, Cambs, PE17 6UN don't delay, send today.

Anyone willing to sell American Pro Football, Great Football or Great Basketball pay up to £15 for each one. Contact Chris on 041 634 0058 after 7pm.

WANTED

Games wanted. Any games wanted with boxes and instructions. Possible new releases. Good prices paid contact Dave on 0772 322246.

Wanted Rambo III. will swap for After Burner. Contact Simon on 01 422 8245 after 4pm.

Wanted! Wonderboy II, Miracle Warriors. Willing to pay: Wonderboy II = £10, Miracle Warriors = £15. Phone Epson 0372 721360 ask for Christopher.

Wanted: Cards and Cartridges (any) also 3D Glasses, Light Phaser, any controls or anything to do with SEGA. Ask for Francis phone Teeside 0642 559427.

Wanted California Games swap for Cyborg Hunter or buy for £15 - £18. Tel: 8935 72674 after 5pm ask for Tom.

Miracle Warriors desperately wanted at a reasonable price. Send price lists to : 198 Whitehouse Common Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B75 6DN.

Has anybody got Phantasy Star of Spellcaster for sale, reasonable price paid. Tel Peter 061 761 46604.

Wanted World Soccer or Double Dragon - up to £15 for each, contact Barry on 0382 817848 after 5pm.

Wanted: Any cheap Mega Drive games. Will pay up to £20. Send lists to Jonathan Jacobs, 103 Harrowes Meade, Edgware, Middx HA8 8RS or call 01 958 9840 for 4 till 7pm.

Wanted: Shanghai, Rastan, Shinobi, Out Run, Vigilante, The Ninja, Rambo III, Thunder Blade, Baseball, Time Soldiers, Football, Bomber Raid, Volleyball, Lord of the Sword, World Grand Prix, After Burner, Zillion II, Basketball and more. Tel: 01 474 0725.

Wanted Sega Card ‘games with instructions. Phone Dave on 0706 351938 after 6pm.

After Burner, Space Harrier, Dynamite Dux and Psycho Fox wanted desperately or any cheaply priced games. Send prices and list to 3 Perrystone Lane, Tupsley, Hereford HR1 1QY.

Wanted Wonder Boy In Monster Land, will give any two of the following games Shinobi, Double Dragon, Space Harrier. Phone 0446 747286. i live in Barry my name is Llywelyn.

Wanted Choplifter or Space Harrier will give £5 plus Gangster Town. Please phone 0422 357802 and ask for Robert. Call between 4pm and 9pm.

If anyone has Pro Wrestling and is willing to sell I will pay £18. If poss ring 0772 634091 ask for Simon after 6pm.

Please, please, please, has anyone got Wonderboy I have been looking for this game for ages. If you have got Wonderboy ring Colin after 6pm on 0937 843443.

Wanted: California Games or other good games for Ghostbusters, Kenseiden or Enduro Racer. Contact Simon Murphy on 041 553 2325 Glasgow. Please leave phone number if answering machine comes on. Thanks!

Wanted Power Strike. Willing to pay up to £15 if as new if interested contact Peter on Southend (0702) 342652 after 6pm if possible.

Wanted if anyone has any games for sale between £10 and £15 write to 130 Broadway, Loughborough. Leicestershire. LE11 2JG.

Has anyone got California Games they want to sell or I will swap if so please ring David on 0202 733442. Thanks.

Urgently wanted Vigilante will swap for Choplifter and Kung Fu Kid also will swap Action Fighter for My Hero and Out Run 3D for R-Type or World Grand Prix 0229 81292,

Wanted Pro Wrestling will offer £20 phone Chris on 01 886 0995 or swap for Shinobi or Super Tennis.

Wanted Sega games will pay up to £15 for well known titles. Also Cheap Light Phaser. Send list to The Stables, Stables Lane, Buxton, Derbys, SK17 6UG Tel: 0298 26775.

Rocky, Altered Beast or World Soccer. Will pay £10 - £15 for any of these. Ring 01 882 8202 William.

Wanted Rastan: Swap for Ghostbusters, or Out Run. Or pay £15. Please phone Cris on (0372) 742625 ASAP of write to 34 Andrews Close, Epson Surrey KT17 4EX.

Wanted cheap Sega will pay up to £25 phone 0382 738959 after 4.30 and ask for David hurry please.

Wanted: R-Type, Quartet, Out-Run Rastan £15 top whack (no more) Tel Laura on 0280 813053 (after 4.30).

Cheap Sega games wanted phone. Also I will swap Black Belt, Wonderboy, The Ninja, Enduro Racer, Space Harrier, Out Run. For other good games (eg. Vigilante, Altered Beast etc. Phone (0272) 316796.

Wanted Golvellius. Will pay up to £15. Must be in good condition with instruction booklet write to Dave at 26 Finsbury Road, Reddish, Stockport or phone 061 432 8352 anytime.

PEN PALS

Yo, funky fun-loving Sega geezer (that's me!) seeks another cool dude to swap tips with. Write to Crabby, 22 Riseway Close, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 4NJ. I'm a-waiting!

I'm 11 years old I own a Sega and six games I like Rap music and American wrestling contact 62 Milton Way, Houghton, Regis, Beds LG5 5UE. My name's Ian.

ADVICE

I am sending a cheat for Shinobi. Press down, right and press button 2 when the eyes move to choose level. Then move D button up or down.


A Little Bit of Sly Help

Welcome back, cheat freaks! I dunno, it doesn't ssseem like a whole month since you came looking for help on all those games you can't play... you buncha wimpsss! Well, never mind. I may be cold-blooded but I've got a heart of gold. For a start off, here's a way of completing Psycho Fox! This one I did myself (with a little help from Daniel Byford of Middlesex, Karl Woodbridge of Wellingborough plus a few others!).

  1. Start off on level 1-1 (fairly obvious) and get bird-fly from the first egg. Kill the three Pockly Guys.
  2. Jump up the next six platforms, climb the three steps and then take a big running jump to reach the next platform.
  3. Kill the two Pockly Guys as they move towards you, then move up three more platforms and do over the single Pockly Guy.
  4. Move to the far left of the platform. Now, run at full pelt and jump just as you hit the second tree. As long as you keep pushing right you should land on the whiplash pole. Follow through with a medium-sized jump onto the group of three jumping boards, a smaller jump onto the single jumping board, and finally leap up onto the next platform. This whole manoeuvre is a bit tricky, so you'll probably have to practice it a few times before getting it right.
  5. Jump up and run across the four single blocks (as long as you keep moving, you won’t fall through). Jump the larger gap in the middle (if you fall off the edge, don't worry - you should land on the jumping board below, so you can then leap onto the other board and across onto the platform), and then run across the next three blocks. Finally, jump down onto the platform directly beneath the white cloud.
  6. Attempt a long jump over the water, but watch out for the single Pockly Guy - get ready to punch as soon as you land.
  7. Leap onto the next platform, move right and throw Bird Fly - ta-daaaa! A warp zone! Jump through the black hole and you'll appear in the warp room. Move right, slide down the slope and pass through the first exit you find, to end up...

...at the start of level 7-1!

  1. This is where the fun begins! Crack open the two eggs (the second one contains Bird Fly if you've lost him) and climb the first slope. Watch out for the Wind Tube, and jump across onto the second slope. Beware the Pockly Guy, and Gabacho who sits on the top.
  2. Up and over the next slope, and then jump across the spikes using the jumping boards.
  3. Do the same again, watching out for the second wind tube, and across onto the escalator. There's a Pockly Guy party at the top, so get ready!
  4. Slide down the far side and walk past the whiplash pole. Watch out for the two Pocklies on the next slope, and then you can either go across the top platform, or underneath (if you go under, leave the eggs and kill the Pocklies).
  5. At the far side you have to jump on the lone Gabacho standing guard (use the jumping board if approaching from beneath).
  6. Slide down and then jump across the three jumping boards (you can do it in one go).
  7. Another uppy slope (yet another wind tube) and across more jumping boards.
  8. Now the next four eggs all contain money, so get cracking! And don't forget to waste the

Gabacho.

  1. There are three escalators which you must climb now, being careful between the second and third, because of the wind tube. At the top, turn into Hippo and smash the wall.
  2. The three eggs contain Bird Fly (or some other widget) plus two extra lives. Move right but before you hit the down slope whack on a potion (if you have one spare) because there are a couple of Red Hoppers at the bottom.
  3. Run along, up the slope and you've made it!

LEVEL 7-2

  1. This is a really tricky start! You can either run across and jump all the way down the slope, avoiding the Red Hoppers, or you can hop across onto the platform (to do this with the fox, you have to start down the slope first, then jump). The three eggs contain two red hoppers on either side and a transformation stick in the centre.
  2. At the bottom of the slope, you'll find two Pockly Guys waiting, plus another one coming down the slope as you go up. There's also a wind tube at the top of the slope, so get ready to jump.
  3. Across the two jumping boards and then it's egg-smashing time for, er.. nothing, and Bird Fly or something else.
  4. Across more jumping boards - with a quick bash on the head for Mr Gabacho - and then down the slide as fast as possible to avoid the ball!
  5. When you reach the whiplash pole, wait for the two Poontans to arrive then Bird Fly ’em both!
  6. Up and over the next slope and then do the same - in this case a Red Hopper.
  7. Wait for the Pockly Guy to come down the slope, bash 'im and then move up, and across the gap.
  8. Wait for the Pockly Guy to reach the bottom of the small slope (he'll just stay there) and then up and onto the two jumping boards.
  9. There's another pair of escalators to climb here. Duff up the Gabacho (half-way) then the tricky bit...
  10. You can either use a potion and belt across the collapsible bridge or - if you don't have a potion or want to save it for the next round (wise move) - you can fall down the hole, past the single jumping board, to land far below. Keep pushing right and you should avoid the two Red Hoppers who are milling around at the bottom.
  11. From here it's a fairly straightforward tromp over two steep slopes (and a little slope in between) being careful to avoid the approaches of five Pocklies along the way, before reaching the end of the round.
  12. If you go zooming over the bridge, it's just a small jump off the edge (or up and across the final platform - forget the eggs, they're all bad!) and down to reach the' Round End' marker (neatly avoiding the Gabacho en route).

LEVEL 7-3

  1. So, here we are on the last level - and it’s a toughie! Before anything else, beware the two Poontans who come leaping on. Bash ’em with Bird Fly or punch ’em out! Head over to the teeter-totter board and stand on the blue one. Press fire and push up, then when the ball falls, Fox will go hurtling up and over the ball tube.
  2. Climb the escalator on the right, and get ready to jump the next ball which is released.
  3. Bounce acros the two jumping boards and land on the platform. If you've lost 3F, get ready to smash the first egg and send him out to despatch the two Red Hoppers who are coming your way! The second egg has a straw effigy.
  4. Take a running jump off the edge, and just miss the tip off the whiplash pole. If you keep pushing right, you should land on the small stepped platform on the right.
  5. Drop down to the right (just missing two Pocklies), and down the slope.

6 Run across the flat bit, up the little slope and kill the Pockly Guy. Fall down (don't go through the destructible wall) and walk along the flat bit, dusting off two PGs along the way. Up the slope and onto the bridge.

  1. Now, if you haven't got any potions at this point, you're in biiiig trubbie. if you have, slap one on and get across the bridge, pronto. When you get to the end, watch out, or else you fail down the gap!
  2. Jump across to the next block, and then jump on the Gabacho. Jump across the next

four blocks, and then time your next jump to miss the floating fireball. Up the slope and ready yourself for the next bridge.

  1. Now if you've run out of potions, don’t panic. If you still have Bird fly, you'll be alright. Turn into the tiger, and peg it across the bridge! You'll get hit, but Bird Fly protects you, and you remain invincible (flashing on and off) long enough for you to reach the end, and face Madfox Damyojin. The tiger is the best creature to be, 'cause he’s fast. Keep moving and keep punching that button. After that, you're on your own!

SOS

One game that has had many people stumped is the classic Wonderboy In Monsterland. Ssso it's a big thanks to Alan Land of County Durham for the words and Edward Daly of London fbr the maps. And, of course, massive 'thank you's to everybody elssse who sssent in ssstuff! Right, off we go...

LEVEL ONE

Collect the coin in the tree before entering the hut. After you come out of the hut, jump on top and collect three coins (jump above the door's left edge). Jump against the wall next to drinks shop/bar and collect a bag of coins. And don't forget to collect your egg timer.

LEVEL TWO

Climb onto the platform where the boot shop is, but try not to enter the shop. Jump off to the right to where the edge of the house is to collect a coin. Move up the platforms to the shield shop. Stand on the far right of the ledge and jump off to the right to collect a bag of coins near where the roof drops down. If you leap off to the left, there is a coin to be found in the cloud.

Return to the boot shop and buy your leather boots for 80G (if you couldn't find the coins before, try now). Jump onto the platform above the water and collect the egg timer. Jump off but watch for arrows - jump over them. Jump around the small cactus and collect a coin.

Enter the cave, jump up at the edge of the second but bottom step and collect a coin. Knock on the indicated door and obtain your scroll for Catherine.

To get your sword, enter the final door and walk towards the centre of the screen avoiding the fireballs. Stab King Vampire as he comes towards you. Jump on top of this hut and collect three coins. Once you return from the cave, and move across the water, you can get healed if you need to.

There is a coin above the edge of the bottom step. Go up the ladder, there are three coins in the cloud to the left. Jump onto the other platform and collect the egg timer. Once you are across the gap, there is a coin in the tree.

To kill Master Myconid, it's best to run at him, jump and stab. Repeat this method again and Myconid should die.

LEVEL THREE

Proceed along the level and collect a coin just in front of the candle before the spikes. Jump across the spikes, wait next to the final pair of spikes for the eel whips (red ghosts) to come towards you. Run underneath the one on the left and climb up the ladder. Proceed up to the next screen after killing the Malkonid (walking mushroom) and the pesky snake who's blocking your way.

On the next screen, jump at the right edge of the ladder platform to obtain a coin. Jump across to the candle, and you should find a heart around here.

Go into the magic store twice, and buy five fireballs each time. Try to avoid using the Magic since you need as much as possible for the final dragon!

Proceed up to the next section. If you jump off the moving platform to the right, you'll find another coin. Coffect your egg timer (half way up the stairs) and climb up the ladder. Buy your light armour for 60G. Jump off the platform to collect a coin (just before the knight’s door).

To kill the Red Knight, stab him as he is about to stab/jump on you.

LEVEL FOUR

Collect the bags of money that can be found on most of the later platforms. Collect a coin by jumping up at the left edge of the little island with the crab.

On the moving platform if you jump in the correct place, you receive a bag of money. In the coastal town of Baraboro, buy your heavy armour for 100G.

Catherine lives above the bar next to the shield shop. See her to obtain your flute. At the edge of the houses, jump - there is a bag of money there.

Return to the shield shop and buy your knight shield for 120G. Using the spring in the rock, jump onto the cloud and collect your three coins (left hand cloud). Jump over the water and kill Kurachen.

To defeat the squid, approach him while avoiding the fireballs. Jump and stab him. It's easier to attack him from behind. After killing him go back and drop down into the water, purchase 10 fireballs from the store. Return and kill Kurachen again (try and use your sword). Collect the money and the big heart, finish the level and you should receive a 10,000 point bonus!

LEVEL FIVE

Collect the coin in the first tree and the bag of coins in the third tree after the bar. Proceed along the level, but jump over the well. Stand on the edge and jump to collect a coin. Drop down the well.

Proceed along the level and enter the door where the question mark appears. Approach Giant Khong and stab him. If he moves go after him. Keep going after him and stabbing, this way you should avoid all of the rocks that he throws. Collect the bag of coins from on top of the armour shop.

In the Mam Desert buy two 28G drinks from the bar and receive your note for Betty. Jump across the water and kill the first goblet. After him, block the first arrow then jump over the next one: you should now be able to go along the level killing the goblins and collecting money.

You then return to the pit to collect the key. Getting out of the pit is tricky so time the jumps well. To kill the last flying creature stand on the left hand side where the ground is raised. Once out of the pit, you can kill all of the goblins again and receive all the money again. Now enter the Pyramid.

LEVEL SIX

Carefully jump across all the platforms killing coin collectors to receive bags of money. Once you have travelled up the sinking stars to the end of the screen, don't go off. Just walk onto the last platform, walk across and jump onto the fixed platform. Buy 10 fireballs here. Exit the screen.

In the next part, kill the snakes and jump across the gap to collect three bags of money. Proceed along this level, jump across and kill Rohpah (the plant). If you need to, get healed. Drop off this level to the left, just before the spikes, jump and about eight coins can be collected.

Jump across the gap and kill the snakes and the rat. Return and drop down the gap. Jump across to the right and buy your ceramic boots if you have enough for them (the ceramic boots are often better than the legendary boots).

Exit the store and jump back across the gap. Proceed along and jump onto the platform with the door above the spikes. Buy two 15G drinks, but take notice of what Betty says when you buy your second drink. What she says is a clue for defeating the sphinx.

(*) These are the ones encountered most frequently

REMEMBER: The hand in the box at first always points to the central answer even if it may not look so (e.g. with Missile Defence).

If you get the question wrong, you can still defeat the sphinx with your sword and magic.

And... that's about all the room we've got for this month. The last six rounds will be tipped and mapped out in glorious technicolour for you in S8, so keep hacking 'til then!

If you have any tips, cheats, maps, complete players' guides, special features or anything worthy of inclusion in the best sssection in the mag, why not drop me a line at the usual address: A Little Bit Of Sly Help, S magazine, Future Publishing, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, Avon BA1 2AP. There are some prize cartsss up for grabs!

If you want help on a specific game, label your envelope S.O.S. but please DON'T include stamped, addressed envelopes, 'cause personal replies just ain't possible. Sssorry!

We'll finish off the Wonderboy In Monsterland maps 'n' tips next issue, while Rastan gets the Sly help treatment!

WINNERS

Three mystery carts will soon be Royal Mailing their way to Alan Land of County Durham, Edward Daly from deepest London and Karl Woodbridge of Wellingborough. Enjoy the games, guys, and Keep those maps and tips rolling in!

HIGH SCORE HEROES

Can’t get in amongst the high scorers, huh? What you need is some good advice - from the experts. And who better to ask than Sly’s own high-scoring heroes!

OUT RUN

If you’re having trouble approaching those mega-high scores opposite, try these hintettes from David By Hough, who has clocked up a hefty 57,488,7601!

Go left, right, left and right to end up at 'C'.

Always stay in high gear, except for the start, after a crash, or after bumping into the back of another car {go to low gear for about a second which really gets the revs up). Keep to the inside of corners.

BOMBER RAID

David Childs of London has booted the high score on Bomber Raid through the million mark and has decided to lay some of his wisdom on you: Use squadron 2 on level 1and 2; then use squadron 1 on levels 3 and 4. Finally choose squadron 1 or 2 on level 5.

Blow up the red bonus plane tokens by shooting them a number of times for a 200 point bonus.

DOUBLE DRAGON

If you wanna boost with your Double Dragoning score, try this advice from Stephen Edwards of Aylesbury (451,500): find out how many headbutts a person needs before he falls over, then the next time you play, headbutt the person that number of times minus one. If you headbutt once more he will fall over, so do a leaping reverse kick instead. You get 100 more points than you would for a headbutt. Do this to every single person and your score starts to soar!

HIGH SCORES

If you’ve managed to get a high score oh your favourite game (WITHOUT the aid of any cheats or special devices!) why don’t you let people know? If you’re ssskill enough to make the top three high scores, your name will appear in black and white for the whole world to sssee!

Mind you, I've been receiving some dubiously high scores sent in, so I’d like sssome proof of these monumental feats, especially If your score beats the rest by miles (like a photo of the scoreline, or declaration signed by your parents). And why not send in a piccy of your good ssself to show the test of the crowd just who they’re up against! Next month we should have some mugshots for you to laugh at!

Shove it all in an envelope, and ssscribble: Sly High Scores, S Magazine, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, Avon, BA1 2AP on the front. Right, get goin' humes!

ACTION FIGHTER

268,810
Matthew Dench, Stroud
268,320
Paul Francis, London
233,610
Ben Davies, Leicester

AFTERBURNER

31,183,000
Lee Bradford, Bristol
28,789,500
Gavin Roulston, Birmingham.
27,062,800
Robbie Ellmore, Gloucester

ALEX KIDD AND THE LOST STARS

423,100
James Alexander, Cardiff
305,100
Scott Stone, Portsmouth
177,000
Ian Robinson, Newport

ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD

109,700
Darryl Cooper
98,000
Michelle Hines' Mum, Dorset
97,410
Lee Reynolds, Cheshire

ALIEN SYNDROME

491,000
Waqaf Shah; Derby
238,500
Glyn Thomas, Sale
236,943
Robert Watkins, Cheltenham

ALTERED BEAST

510,100
Richard Brown, Norwich
478,700
Robert Watkins, Cheltenham
473,200
Paul Butterworth, W'Yorkshire

ASTRO WARRIOR

1,232,700
Michelle Goffer, Cardiff
1,119,500
Andrew Goffer, Cardiff
1,117,000
Jim Spillip, Gwent

AZTEC ADVENTURE

1,672,321
Matthew White, Warley

BANK PANIC

1,687,450
Louise Nisbet, Northampton
865,400
James Whiting, Northampton
810,850
Paul Arthur, Surrey

BLACK BELT

999,400
Simon Adams, Bedford
958,900
Gareth Cavanagh, Cardiff
913,700
Darren Owen, Stourport

BLADE EAGLE 3D

225,400
Robbie Ellmore, Gloucester

BOMBER RAID

2,600,020
Steven Llevyellyn, Glamorgan
2,440,500
Maxwell Jebson, W Yorkshire
1,340,900
Graeme Evans, Greenford

CAPTAIN SILVER

152,300
Abdul Mokid, Oldham

CASINO GAMES

$1,285,970
Carl Bradley, Hillingdon
$1,122,370
Ross Gentle, St Neots
$1,121,230
Stewart Robinson, Bath

(PINBALL)

111,270
Carl Marsh, Oldham

CHOPLIFTER

6,002,400
Matthew White, Warley
1,552,200
James Wood, Bath
1,386,800
Jason Pitman, Bath

CLOUDMASTER

896,600
Steve Willingham, Hull
740,000
Paul Fawson, Surrey (UK Sega Champ)
531,300
Lee Worton, Birmingham

DEAD ANGLE

228,400
Graeme Evans, Greenford
227,000
Peter Leung, Luton

DOUBLE DRAGON

640,200
Stuart Ladbrook, Bexley
623,250
Craig Fox, Chesterfield
619,460
Andrew Jackson, Jarrow

DYNAMITE DUX

671,540
Sean Lawrence, Manchester
628,730
Robert Watkins, Cheltenham
613,510
George Thompson, Skipton

ENDURO RACER

Time 5:45:02
Christopher Kitson, Inverness
Time 5:56:29
Keiron Felton, Fareham
Time 5:54:57
T Bennett, Bedford

FANTASY ZONE

44,747,600
Edward Bowes, Saddleworth
6,784,200
Sean Lawrence, Manchester
1,237,300
Rhodri James, Dyfed

FANTASY ZONE II

7,421,000
Andrew Craven, Cardiff
7,404,300
Emma Spillip, Gwent
7,294,000
Michelle Hines’ Dad, Dorset

FANTASY ZONE - THE MAZE

372,390
Andrew Griffiths, Newport
255,580
Robert Hill, Cheam

GALAXY FORCE

397,000
Gary Heron, Ayr
357,998
David Herbert, Bolton
344,400
Mark Allen, Mid Glamorgan

GANGSTER TOWN

600,750
David Barrell, Cardiff
528,200
Russell Freeman, Esse*
189,750
Darren Robson, Hampshire

GHOST HOUSE

1,021,200
Scott Jeavons’ Dad, Bolton
987,950
Louise Nisbet, Northampton
986,120
Daniel Mudd, Manchester

GHOSTBUSTERS

3464,600
Stewart Robinson, Bath

GLOBAL DEFENCE

541,160
Anthony Hoult, Walsall

HANG ON

4,825,580
Nicholas Fox, Redditch
4,532,490
Jason Cowley, Stoke-on-Trent
3,642,830
Sean Lawrence:Manchester

KENSEIDEN

300,000
Jeremy Burton, Bucks
226,100
Martin Hudd, Stroud
171,600
Alan Poulter, Luton

KUNG FU KID

39,130,000
Richard Spillip, Gwent
37,570,100
Maxwell Jebson, W Yorkshire
3,155,300
Tommy.O'Driscoll, Oxfordshire

LORD OF THE SWORD

1,550,000
Stewart Robinson, Bath
1,254,000
Eric Bartlett, Dorset
642,000
Alan Poulter, Luton

MARKSMAN SHOOTING

226,500
Samantha Williams, Upton-on-Severn

MAZE HUNTER 3D

117,900
Ken Goldup, Liverpoof
94,200
Robert Hill, Cheam
83,600
Matthew Parsons, Blackburn

MISSILE DEFENCE 3D

139,300
Anthony Bagbee, Wednesburry
136,350
Mark Collins, Kelty
120,250
Robert Hill, Cheam MY HERO
1,711,300
Sean Lawrence, Manchester
1,409,700
Stuart'Ladbrook, Bexley
1,258,100
Richard Pollard, Hull

OUT RUN

70,162,240
Jim Spillip, Gwent
70,150,890
Darren Paul, Cheltenham
65,455,820
Philip Wainhouse, Leeds

OUT RUN 3D

20,306,120
David Skyrme, Pontypool
18,084,560
Jonathan Geldard, Selby
17,752,310
Jonathan Kelly, Longhope

PENGUIN LAND

21,350
Jonathan Goodall, Chepstow

PIT-POT

12,400
Abdul Mokid, Oldham

POSEIDON WARS 3D

168,576
Graeme Evans, Greenford
55,830
Danny Baker, Durham

POWER STRIKE

4,646,900
S Wheeler, London
4,500,140
Steven Watson, Selby
4,447,980
Anthony Hoult, Walsall

PRO WRESTLING

571,500
Steven Palmer, Stevenage
568,000
Paul Fawson, Surrey (UK Sega Champ)
558,600
Paul Griffin, Huddersfield

QUARTET

1,990,240
4:Darren Paul, Cheltenham
1,166,500
Steven Watson, Selby
232,700
Mark York, Northants

R-TYPE

2,528,400
D & L Watkins, London
1,292,700
Adam Barratt, Bristol
1,159,795
Matthew Barrell, Cardiff

RAMBO III

89,700
Lee Walker, Stockport
88,600
Sean Lawrence, Manchester
86,700
Stephen Edwards, Aylesbury

RAMPAGE

925,375
Steven Jennings, Sale
897,005
Matthew Barrel!, Cardiff
881,692
James Shippey, March

RASTAN

1,085,100
Alan Poulter, Luton
899,990
Anthony Malfatti, Cardiff
878,000
Adam Barratt, Bristol

RESCUE MISSION

578,800
Chris Watson, Warrington
575,600
Robert Hart, Chapelen le Frith
575,500
Simon Assender, Gwent

SAFARI HUNT

2,325,600
Stephen Edwards, Aylesbury
2,289,000
Daniel Butler, Nailsea
1,723,300
Simon Riddle, Beestom

SCRAMBLE SPIRITS

2,324,800
Scott Stone, Portsmouth

SECRET COMMAND

1,347,380
Alan Barratt, Birmingham
1,324,200
Gavin bacon, Cheshire
1,293,000
Anthony Hoult, Walsall

SHOOTING GALLERY

127,300
Alan Barratt, Birmingham

SHINOBI

1,286,100
Adam Barratt, Bristol
989,110
Andrew Goffer, Cardiff
957,840
Steven Branch, Norwich

SPACE HARRIER

45,144,160
Matthew White, Warley
39,238,820
Glyn Thomas, Sale
36,725,392
David Herbert, Bolton

SPACE HARRIER 3D

23,410,840
Andrew Goffer, Cardiff
15,352,500
Mark Collins, Ketty
14,781,602
Matthew White, Warley

THE NINJA

1,390,450
Marcel Price, Swansea
485,650
Robin Milner, Birmingham
430,000
Paul Medina, London

THUNDER BLADE

7,510,260
Simon Gale, Carlisle
5,832,900
Simon Bugford, Birmingham
4,569,000
Rhodri James, Dyfed

TIME SOLDIERS

348,600
J Carpenter, Wheathamstead
296,100
John Roulston, Birmingham
248,900
Robert Vaughan, Middlesex

TRANSBOT

1,054,180
Jason Cowley, Stoke-on-Trent
990,050
Alex De-Grucny, Swansea
642,760
Stephen Mowhinney, Ballymena

TRAP SHOOTING

535,400
Alan Barratt, Birmingham
337,100
Kefron Felton, Fareham

VIGILANTE

276,800
Ian Hutchinson, Dukinfieid
242,100
Scott Jeavons' Dad, Bolton
235,960
Robert a Nob, Stockport

WANTED

300,500
David Barrell, Cardiff
240,500
Darren Child, Chesterfield
185,800
Peter Leung, Luton

WONDERBOY

2,892,312
Robert Newson, Bristol
1,638,730
Steve Willingham, Hull
1,198,760
Darren Paul, Cheltenham

WONDERBOY IN MONSTERLAND

8,925,670
Paul Arthur, Surrey
7,623,000
Robert Watkins, Cheltenham
7,751,970
Steven Ashworth, Oldham

ZAXXON 3D

54,400
Matthew Parsons, Blackburn
13,500
Robert Hill, Cheam

ZILLION 2

634,000
Steven Skuse, London
620,700
Graham Ashcroft, Tarleton
410,600
Sean Lawrence:Manchester

ThE oFfIcIaL bIz!! It'S tHe ReAl ThInG

THE OFFICIAL SEGA® CLUB

Welcome to issue seven!

Hot news! Both Chase HQ and Operation Wolf should be in the shops early summer. Both these titles are Taito licenses and are SUPERB CONVERSIONS of the coin-op originals. Despite the great excitement about the Sega Megadrive arriving in September DO remember there are many, many great games still to come for the Master System.

There appears to be some confusion about club privileges. To buy games at the club discount you HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE SEGA CLUB. Subscribing to S magazine only will not entitle you to the benefits of the Sega Club which include the Sega Hotline for tips and information on games, discount on games, special offers on T-shirts and sweatshirts, Sega Club visits and Special competitions and promotions.

Some recent members have received receipt of their membership to the Sega Club but have not received a copy of S magazine. This has been due to a slight delay when subscribers information is entered onto a database.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING S MAGAZINE THEN CONTACT FUTURE PUBLISHING ON 0255 442244. They publish and distribute S magazine. Please don't ring the Sega Club as we have no information relating to subscriptions!

There are still quite a few of you battling with Spellcaster (the players guide should have helped a little!). If you are getting stuck in a game then do ring in on the Sega Hotline and remember to have your membership detailsto hand as it will help us process your enquiry quicker.

It has been great getting out and about meeting Sega User Groups around the UK. My lasting impressions are of real dedicated Sega game players. Your tastes sure do vary but then the Sega line up is pretty varied too (over 90 titles at present)! On my last few visits I have taken along the new Sega Handle Controller and a pair of 3D glasses. Although the Handle controller is not particularly cheap at forty pounds, without exception every group that tried it said the same. "It is brilliant and it gives a totally new playability to both old and new games alike." The 3D glasses look very cool to wear and again club members enjoyed using them.

There are some dynamite games players whom I have had the misfortune to meet in my latest head-to-head battles and they have not skimped on giving ME advice on how to improve my games playing, JUST YOU LOT WAIT!!

There are currently 28 Sega User Groups around the UK and they just keep on growing, keep an eye out for visits to Scotland and Wales in the months to come. If the shop you buy your games from would like a Sega visit then do get them to ring the Sega Hotline to arrange it.

If any of your friends have Sega Master Systems then 'do them a favour' tell them about the Sega Club and S Magazine so they can be totally hip, cool and with it on what's happening on the Sega front!

Keep those calls coming to arrange Sega User Groups, remember first come, first served.

TONY TAKOUSHI

SEGA CLUB USER GROUP VISIT

This month has been a busy one with three Sega User Group visits, to Aylesbury, Spalding in Lincolnshire and Hayes, Middlesex.

I took along two hot prototypes 'Chase HQ' and 'Operation Wolf, of the Handle Controller and had some very serious head-to-head zapping.

Did I win (again!), did I lose and get some game playing advice, and just what did the groups think of that new fangled Handle Controller?

READ ON ..

My first trip was to Kris Baratt in Aylesbury. Kris is fourteen and his group was a biggie with 9 members. The roll call reads like this - Ben Brydon (13), Niki Baratt (12), Chris Aylett (12), Craig Murray (12), Paul Elinore (11), Andy Cooke (12), Michael Harris (10) and Jayesh Patel (14). They go to different schools (Johr Colet, William Harding and Bedgrove Middle) and they buy their games from Virgin Megastore, Aylesbury Computer Centre, Softcentre (hiya Les) am Woolies.

Some of Kris's favourite games are Rastan, Galaxy Force and Wonderboy 3. He has had his Sega for nine months and has six games (Craig Murray had the biggest collection with 18 games), his favourite two player game is Double Dragon.

The gang plugged in the Handle Controller and played Chase HQ. So what did they think? "Brilliant" said Kris, he liked the smooth control and realistic feel of the unit.

They also had sessions on Outrun 3D and Operation Wolf. Op Wolf is played with a light phaser and it was rated far better than even Rambo3. Outrun 3D was also very popular.

Time was running out and we were getting closer to the Head-to-Head battle. Kris took me on at Cloudmaster. Just as I was going to ask Kris if he had sweaty palms he wiped his hands on his jeans (WE ALL SAW YOU DO IT!), Kris likes zappers and he admitted he was really nervous especially on the end of wave monsters. He even told me his brother Niki is a jinx on him, just then his brother walked in the room and Kris lost a life on his practice go ("stay Niki stay" I insisted).

Kris went first and I think he may just have played this one before! He was good kicking around the screen like a real pro, taking out the strings of aliens and getting three way fire. At the end of his two minutes he had scored 30,600.

Now it was my turn, no matter how hard I tried I could not equal Kris's score. At the end of my time my score was 18,900 - Bad show, Tony.

A resounding beating! AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Kris had some advice for me "keep practising, you were too nervous".

Hah!

My second trip was to Simon Sleight in Spalding Lincolnshire. Simon has four members in Christopher Pickles (11), Andrew Holdness (12) and Adam Cox (12). The lads go to Spalding Grammar School and Kirkston House School.

They get their games from Abbeysoft Computers in Spalding and they have 13 games between them. They liked Chase HQ and Operation Wolf, but they did find Operation Wolf pretty hard going.

Simon and Christopher had a two player on Scramble Spirits which they thoroughly enjoyed. They also commented on the Handle Controller. "It is nicer than I thought it would be, and it is a lot better than a joypad".

Simon had rented some games from his local video shop, Pinchbeck Family Video Centre. He thought it a good idea as he could check the games out before spending his dads hard earned money!

On to the Head-to-Head. I played Simon at Space Harrier and when I asked him if HIS palms were sweaty Christopher said I was unsporting (well I never!).

Simon went first, two minutes and counting, he played well even though he tripped over some bushes, he circled showing good Space Harrier technique and when he got to the end of level 1 he started zapping as soon as he appeared. He destroyed the dragon and ran out of time scoring 1,085,010.

Now it was my turn, I really thrashed that button and was up on Simon's score until I reached the dragon I needed just 2 more seconds to kill it but I was out of time! My score was 400,000 beaten by the bell! - excuses yet again!

Strangely Simon did have some advice for me, "Never mind TT, another zillion years practice under my guiding eye and you should be able to EQUAL my score".

Hah, mind you we did use some very old Quickshot joysticks which I hate (excuses, excuses Tak!).

The final group due a visit was Paul Michael Chase in Hayes Middlesex. There are six in Paul's group, John Chase (10), Dean Roberts (11), Paul Simms (11), Bobby Jessen (8) and Matthew Damien (11). They all go to Belmore Primary School and get their games from Toys R Us and Computer and Electronics in Uxbridge Road.

They got their Sega as a Christmas pressie in 1989 have got 14 games.

Their fave two player game is Rampage and other favourites include California Games and Wonderboy 3. They really liked Golden Axe "Wicked Graphics" said Paul.

Paul's sister and her friend were also there, Lisa Chase and Sonia Newell. The girls like Alex Kidd in the Lost Stars but they don't get much chance to play because Paul uses the Sega so much!

I took Paul on at Chase HQ for the Head-to-Head. Paul told me he was not nervous and he would do his best!

And they'e off! Paul revved his car and zoomed off trying to rack up that score. He overtook cars, slid through bends and used his turbo to reach the criminal. He was clumsy though and hit quite a few barriers and by the end of his two minutes his score was a disappointing 24,400.

I had to win this one, or I could not go home and look my Sega in the eye!

I burnt rubber like I've never burnt rubber before! It did not take long to reach the criminal and I gave him a good bumpin'. At the end of my two minutes my score was a triumphant 204,700.

THAT'S BETTER!

It also helps make up for my previous two defeats, why am I so good at this game! (OR CAN YOU BETTER?)

THAT'S IT FOR THIS MONTH, KEEP THE CALLS COMING...

ArE yOu On ThE mAp?

THE SEGA USER GROUPS IN GREAT BRITAIN!

  1. DOMINIC LEGROS, YARMOUTH
  2. SIMON SCOTT, KENNINGTON
  3. MARK CICHON, HIGH WYCOMBE
  4. KULDEEP CHOPRA, BALHAM
  5. JAMIE BAILEY, MONKTON YORK
  6. LEE SINGLETON, RAYLEIGH ESSEX
  7. CHRIS GODFREY, DABINGDON OXFORDSHIRE
  8. KEN KENJI, BARROW IN FURNESS CUMBRIA
  9. GUY CONNELLY, NAILSEA BRISTOL
  10. SIMON OAKLEY, CHESHUNT HERTS
  11. J SCHOLES, HOLLINWOOD OLDHAM
  12. CHRIS BARATT, AYLESBURY
  13. PAUL MICHAELCHASE, HAYES MIDDX
  14. ARON GREGORY, BARKINGSIDE ILFORD
  15. DARREN BAILEY, LOUGHBOROUGH LEICESTER
  16. GARY EVANS, COULSDON SURREY
  17. STEVEN POPE, BARTLEY GREEN BIRMINGHAM
  18. MATTHEW TREGALLAS, BARNSTAPLE DEVON
  19. JOEWATKINSON, WYTHENSHAWE MANCHESTER
  20. MIKE SMITH, ROMFORD ESSEX
  21. SIMON SLEIGHT, SPALDING LINCOLNSHIRE
  22. PHILLIP BEAUMONT, MIDDLETON MANCHESTER
  23. CPENWRIGHT, STAINES MIDDX
  24. ADOUGLAS, CHESHIRE
  25. DAVID SRELSORD, TUNSTALL SUNDERLAND
  26. BROSS, PERTHSHIRE SCOTLAND
  27. TIM KELLY, BLETCHLEY MILTON KEYNES
  28. ALEX HUNT, STRATFORD LONDON
  29. CHRIS MASON, BRACKNELL BERKS

USE IT UP!: Sega owners are setting up User Groups all over the country. All you have to do is get five or more Sega users together and hold a meeting. Once the group is established simply call in to arrange a personal visit from THE CONSOLE MASTER, Tony Takoushi. He will bring along the VERY latest prototype games straight out of Japan for you to sample. And if you should fancy your chances you can take on TT in a head-to-head battle on one of the latest games (the winner is immortalised in S magazine, but TT hates to lose so beware ...). There will also be an ample supply of freebie games and Sega merchandise to be handed out.

Come on Wales and Ireland I'm sure you've got user groups there so ring TONY TAKOUSHI today!

HaVe YoU gOt OnE oF tHeSe? It’S aBoUt TiMe YoU did...

This months fab offers - Great Football & Rampage

The two winners of the Sega Light Phaser from issue 5 are:-

GiVe It SoMe StIcK...

Have you got enough "stick" to take "control" of the latest in a long line of mega competitions. This time round those really nice people at Sega have put up for grabs 3 (yep, three) Control Sticks. And what do you have to do to win one, just answer this simple question. What message does the Sega TV character say (here's a clue, have a look on the back of the T-Shirt). Send your answers to Virgin Mastertronic at the usual address and don't forget your membership number, expiry date plus your name and address.

The winners will be announced in a future issue of S.

Send to: CLASSIC GAMES OFFER, VIRGIN MASTERTRONIC, 2-4 VERNON YARD, PORTOBELLO ROAD, LONDON W11 2DX

GeT yOuRsElF iN tHe Club!

S magazine features a special Sega Club section in every issue where members can get the latest gen on club events and special offers. The Club is a total backup service, and the benefits include: Sega Hotline: A telephone service where members can ring in and get tips on the latest games, info on hot new Sega products.

Sega Merchandise: Club members are entitled to special Sega merchandise available only through the club. Items include T-Shirts, posters, badges, stickers and caps.

Sega competitions: There will be exclusive competitions with VERY exclusive prizes. These will be held through the club and at special venues through the year.

Sega Promotions: These will be special events held throughout the country, with plenty of Sega goodies on display and a chance to meet the faces that make Sega tick in the U.K.

Remember, All club facilities and special offers are only available to fully paid up members of the official SEGA club. To join, all you have to do is fill in the form including a Cheque or Postal Order for £19.95 made payable to the SEGA CLUB.

NO CASH, ONLY CHEQUES & POSTAL ORDERS GUYS!

Your £19.95 entitles you to one year's subscription of the Sega Club with 12 monthly issues of S, plus 2 FREE issues of the mag.

Send to: VIRGIN MASTERTRONIC, TOWER COTTAGE, ST. BURYAN, PENZANCE, CORNWALL TR19 6BZ OPERATION WOLF


OPERATION WOLF £29.99 "The Best Light Phaser Game In Years" (89% C & VG COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSOLES)

CHASE H.Q. £29.99 "An Excellent Conversion" (83% C & VG COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSOLES)

GOLDEN AXE £29.99

RC GRAND PRIX £29.99

WORLD GAMES £29.99

ASSAULT CITY £29.99

"DO ME A FAVOUR... PLUG ME INTO A SEGA®" FROM Virgin

2-4 VERNON YARD, PORTOBELLO ROAD, LONDON W11 2DX

Prices are subject to change without notice


See more scans of S: The Sega Magazine



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