Shot97 Retro

    A-Train Amiga, 1992 (Original PC-98 1990) Maxis/Artdink/Dreamers Guild $69.95 *My video review for A-Train *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game played/shown in its designed NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio On occasion the act of procuring the latest video game called for a bit of espionage. On weekends my father and I would often find ourselves in or around the local mall to watch movies at one of three nearby theaters. We'd arrive early enough to get in a couple games of pinball before the show, and when the movie was over we'd drop in at the precursor to Game Stop; Babbage's. This was the height of the 16-bit era, the Genesis and Super Nintendo kiosks luring eager gamers into the store.  While most of the small store's shelving space was dedicated to the various consoles, the great thing about Babbage's was that it also carried computer games, including the Amiga. While its selection was piddling compared to the independent d...

  Amiga, 1989 (Europe), 1990 (U.S.) Infograms (Europe) / DataEast (U.S.) $44.95,  £24.99 *My video review for North & South *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game shown and best played in NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio (Atari ST original) Often with fans of a particular genera you'll find yourself met with snobby senses of what they've come to associate with excellence in a given category of games. In the console world a platformer should be like Mario, though you're not allowed to rip it off! Differ too greatly and you could find a game which might be loved on a computer system utterly dismissed as too hard on the consoles. In the realm of computers, simulations were supposed to be as close to the real thing as possible. If you mixed a little arcade into that sim, perhaps you'd sell a bucket load to consumers, but you'd find that game mocked as for the kiddies in many magazines of the era. If you ever found yourself screaming...