Ralph, Coming Soon #6 (02/1994)

Coming Soon February Edition ============================= 23/01/94 As I won't be able to release it when I'll be on the Alps's slopes, here is the new list for February. There are a lot of games delayed especially Ultima VIII: Pagan. There will have an add-on in mid-February with all the new games showed at the Winter CES. Watch out for some great Razor releases! Group Greets to : Nexus, INC, TRSI, TDT, PWA. Personal Greets to: The Renegade Chemist, Marauder, Razor Blade, Roland Prime Evil, Lord Thinker, LaRIC, Cobra, HiTMAN, ButterMan, RipWave, Factory, Wolverine, Paris Angel. Special Greets to my friends: Rifleman, Grim, Torgall. Product Name Date Company Name SVGA Windows ------------ ---- ------------ ---- ------- Alien 3 January Virgin N Arena:The Elder Scrolls February Bethesda Softworks N Armored Fist February Novalogic N Battle Isle 2 February Bluebyte N Beneath a Steel Sky February Revolution Software N Body Blows Galactic February Team 17 N Cannon Fodder February Virgin N Dennis the Malice February Ocean N Dungeon Master II February Interplay N Evasive Action February Mindscape N F-14 Fleet Defender February MicroProse N Mechamander February Mindcraft N Pacific Strike February Origin N Sabre Team February Krisalis N Settlers February Blue Byte N Starlord February MicroProse N Star Wars Screen Saver for Windows February LucasArts Y Y Theater of Death February Psygnosis N Washington Scenery February Mallard Y Cool Spot February Virgin N Cybergo February Mindcraft N Detroit February Impressions N DragonSphere February MicroProse N Freelancers 2120 February US Gold N Harpoon II February Three-Sixty Y Ishar III February Silmarils N MechWarrior II February Activision N Righteous Fire: Add-On for Privateer February Origin N Robinson's Requiem February Silmarils N Werewolf February Virgin N Jack the Ripper March Mirage N Lawnmower Man March Sales Curve N Lord of Midnight 3 March Domark N Magician's Castle March Psygnosis N Manchester united II March Krisalis N Pax Imperia March Changeling Y Rabbit March Titus N Raiden March Us Gold N Star Reach March Interplay N Super Hero League of Hoboken March Legend N Theme Park March Bullfrog N Treasure in the Silver Lake March Flair N Evidence March Microids N Flight of The Amazon Queen March Binary Illusions N G2 March Psygnosis N I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream N/A Cyberdreams Y Overlord D Day March Virgin N Cyberspace March Empire N Fist March Supervision N Dreamweb March Empire N Wings of Glory March Origin N 1942 Pacific Air War March MicroProse N Dark Legions March S.S.I. N Delta V March Bethesda Softworks N Dominion March Mindcraft N Genies Curse March S.S.I. N Dreamweb March Empire N Outpost March Sierra On-Line Y Y Ravenloft March S.S.I. N SSN-21 Sea Wolf March Electronic Arts N Super Ski 3 March Microids N Tie-Fighter March LucasArts N UFO March MicroProse N Ultima VIII: Pagan March Origin N Evolution:Lost in Time March US Gold N Victory at Sea March Three-Sixty Y Heimdall 2 April Core Design N Inferno April Ocean N Aces of the Deep April Dynamix N Bio Forge April Origin N Stonekeep April Interplay Y Tower April Mallard Y Gryphon Masters May Mindcraft N Legend May Krisalis N Magic Carpet June Bullfrogg N Inherit the Earth July New World Computing N Bounty Hunter December Origin N CD Section ========== Alien Chaos February Infogrames N Lawnmower Man February Sales Curve N Megarace February Mindscape N Microcosm February Psygnosis N Rise of the Robots February Mirage Y Outpost March Sierra On-Line Y Under a Killing Moon March Access Y Dracula April Psygnosis N Eden April Virgin N Myst April Broderbund Y The 11th Hour April Trilobyte Y Scavenger June Psygnosis N Star Fleet Academy June Interplay N Dragon Tales September Mindscape N Star Trek: Next Generation September Interplay N/A The Dig December LucasArts N Wing Commander 3 December Origin Y In Progress: ------------ - Planetfall: The Search for Floyd Designed by Activision Based on Return to Zork Interface - Tank 1 Simulation Designed by MicroProse Press Releases: --------------- Pagan a Brave New World in the Ultima Series. Ultima, one of the longest-running and most successful series of role-playing games in the entertainment software industry, takes a quantum leap forward with the release of ULTIMA VIII: Pagan in the first quarter of 1994. This latest installment of Richard "Lord British" Garriotts epic adventure promises to astonish long-time fans and draw in new players. Saving the world has never been so much fun. As with each successively numbered Ultima, Pagan is all-new technology and looks completely different than any of its predecessors. A 45-degree angle view on the world gives it more three-dimensional depth. The main character of the Avatar is larger than ever before. With an almost 100-fold increase in animation, his movements have been expanded from simple walking and fighting to leaping, climbing and even throwing. Pagan also features a deeper level of player interaction within its world, with twice the amount of artwork for objects that the Avatar can see, pick up and use. Four-channel digitized sound allows multiple sound effects to play simultaneously, so clashing swords can be heard over a monsters roar or a crackling fire. An optional Speech Accessory Pack (sold separately) adds digitized speech for certain characters and animated sequences. For the first time, Ultima players will be thrust into a place other than the familiar world of Britannia. In ULTIMA VIII, the Avatar has been banished to the strange land of Pagan by his nemesis, the Guardian. Here, elemental titans representing Earth, Wind, Fire and Water hold dominion over the world and its inhabitants (also with more animation than any other Ultima). Going it alone, the Avatar must forge relationships, solve a series of quests and vanquish a bizarre host of creatures if he ever hopes to escape and save Britannia as well as the Guardians next target-Earth. Current system requirements for ULTIMA VIII: Pagan are: IBM-PC, 386/33+, Intel 486 or 100% compatible system (486 recommended) 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended), 29 MB hard drive space MS-DOS 4.0 or higher, mouse 256-color VGA graphics MUSIC (optional): Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, General MIDI MPU-401 or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board No memory manager needed, but Pagan is compatible with many popular memory management programs Pacific Strike Flies in the Face of History. The attack on Pearl Harbor once again thrusts America into World War II and flight simultion fans into the cockpit in ORIGINs Pacific Strike, scheduled for release during the first quarter of 1994. Pacific Strike takes you to nine unforgettable sites of conflict in the Pacific Theater: Pearl Harbor, the Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, the Marianas, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. But this time around, history may not repeat itself. Your success or failure in dogfights weaves a "what-if?" scenario into the storyline. For example, a Japanese aircraft carrier which isnt destroyed in the Coral Sea may show up again at Iwo Jima. Fly well and you may prevent the need for the atom bomb-fly poorly and it might be the Americans who end up signing articles of surrender. As you rise in rank, youll fly eight historically accurate aircraft, including the Wildcat, Corsair, Hellcat, Devastator, Dauntless and Helldiver. In some planes, you can even jump into the tailgunners seat while the computer takes the controls. In the skies, you'll meet more than a dozen Japanese aircraft such as Zeros, Kates, Vals and Bakas. Customize your strategy when you choose your wingmen and weapon loadouts on 37 missions: dogfights, bombing raids, strafing runs and torpedo attacks. ORIGINs RealSpace graphics engine gives each plane incredible detail. Pacific Strikes virtual cockpit allows independent head movement, three targeting views as well as a "clear-glass" option for players who dont want anything to come between them and the target. The optional Speech Accessory Pack sold separately will add even more flavor with radio chatter between pilots. Current system requirements for Pacific Strike are: IBM-PC, Intel 486 or 100% compatible system 256-color VGA graphics MS-DOS 5.0 or higher 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended) 20 MB hard drive space Keyboard (joystick recommended, also supports rudder pedals) MUSIC (optional): Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, Roland SCC-1, RAP-10, General MIDI MPU-401 or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board Righteous Fire Adds Bang to Privateer. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Gemini sector comes Righteous Fire, the first set of additional missions for ORIGINs Privateer, slated for release during the first quarter of 1994. Like Privateer, Righteous Fire blends intense 3-D space combat with the creativity of role-playing and resource management. This crusade boasts more than two dozen new missions, fresh character dialogue and improved spaceship options. There are even more ways to exploit the economic side of the Kilrathi war by trading goods, smuggling cargo and riding shotgun for other ships. But in the Privateer universe, its not enough to be an ace fighter pilot, you have to have a killer business sense, too. Righteous Fire picks up right where Privateer left off-you have destroyed the powerful Steltek Drone and decided to take a relaxing trip to one of Gemini sectors pleasure worlds. One morning, you discover that your great reward, the Steltek gun, has been stolen from your ship. If you can scrape together enough cash and cargo to outfit your ship, you may eventually find out what happened to your prize gun and head off a plan to overthrow the Gemini-based Confederation. Current system requirements for Privateer Missions: Righteous Fire are: IBM-PC, 386/33+, Intel 486 or 100% compatible system Core game of Privateer installed on hard drive 4 MB RAM 256-color VGA graphics MS-DOS 5.0 or higher Mouse (joystick recommended) MUSIC (optional): Pro Audio Spectrum, Ad Lib, Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Pro Audio Spectrum, Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board ORIGINs System Shock Takes First-Person Perspective to Second Level. Computer gamers who love fast-paced action with a first-person perspective arent doomed to play mindless shoot-em-ups for the rest of their lives; ORIGIN will open their eyes with System Shock in the first half of 1994. System Shock fuses all the energy of a top-flight action/adventure game with its own cyberpunk storyline. In the year 2072, you awake from a healing sleep as the lone survivor aboard a remote space station. Immediately, you receive a desperate holographic warning about SHODAN, a ruthless, super-intelligent computer system that has siezed control of the stations robotic security forces and biological research facilities. Moreover, SHODAN has already set its sights on Earths plentiful resources. Your only hope is to enter cyberspace and deactivate SHODAN from within, but youll have to battle gleaming sentries and horrific genetic monsters before you can do it. The same creative talents who built the dungeons of ULTIMA Underworld now take a high-resolution approach to science fiction. An all-new gaming engine gives System Shock real-world physics and stunning graphics, complete with point-source lighting and animated texture detail. As the main character, your monitor becomes your eyes into this alternate world, where you can look up, down and even over ledges. As you explore the space station, youll find an arsenal of weapons at your disposal, but its going to take brainpower as well as firepower to beat SHODAN. Current system requirements for System Shock are: IBM-PC, Intel 486 or 100% compatible system 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended) MS-DOS 4.0 or higher 256-color VGA graphics Mouse or joystick MUSIC (optional): General MIDI MPU-401 or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board Wings of Glory 1917-1918 Takes Computer Pilots Back to Basics of Dogfighting. Before laser-guided missiles, before infrared bombs-even before radio-there was still war in the sky. ORIGINs Wings of Glory, scheduled for release during the first half of 1994, takes you back to the days of World War I, when high-tech aircraft were those that didnt shoot off their own propellers. Wings of Glory captures the silver-screen magic of classic films like the Blue Max and Dawn Patrol. Daring young pilots took to the skies in canvas-covered aeroplanes with nothing but a machine gun and their wits. Flying for the British Royal Flying Corps, and later the Americans, youll fly through puffy, white clouds in the open-air cockpits of five historically accurate planes: the Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Camel, SE5a, SPAD XIII and the Fokker Dr. I. With ORIGINs RealSpace graphics engine, youll see unprecedented detail in the colorful but deadly planes of the German Hunter Squadrons. As your superiors recognize your skills, theyll send you on deadlier missions, taking out the so-called "sausage" observation balloons as well as behemoth zeppelins. All the while, newspaper headlines will keep you updated on the progress of the war-both the good news and the bad. Four-channel digital sound gives you the roar of dogfighting the way WWI pilots heard it. An Instant Mission Generator lets you fly against any combination of enemies you choose. A Mission Recorder lets you save your favorite battles and watch them again from multiple camera angles. Current system requirements for Wings of Glory 1917-1918 are: IBM-PC, Intel 486 or 100% compatible system 256-color VGA graphics 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended) MS-DOS 5.0 or higher Keyboard, mouse (joystick recommended, also supports rudder pedals) MUSIC (optional): Ad Lib, Sound Blaster/Pro, Roland MT-32/LAPC-1, General MIDI MPU-401 or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFFECTS (optional): Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound board ORIGIN Launches Interactive Movie Line with BioForge. Hollywood and hardware come together with the premier of the ORIGIN Interactive Movie line of games. BioForge, the first title in this new series, is slated for release during the first part of 1994. Interactive Movies are specifically designed to deliver a cinematic gaming experience in which you are the star, using everything from Hollywood camera techniques to action-sensitive soundtracks. In BioForge, you will totally control a fully animated, synthetic actor as he moves through a detailed 3-D world. As the actor moves between each "set," cameras switch automatically from a variety of angles. His actions also trigger cutaways and quick edits for a more seamless integration of interactive and cinematic parts of the game. Four-channel digital sound gives the world an audible depth; noises are louder the closer they are to the active camera. The immersive plot is propelled forward by a combination of your decisions and game dynamics, a roller-coaster pace enhanced by a dynamic musical score. Starring as the lead character of Lex, you awaken from an operation to find youve been transformed into a sophisticated Cyborg, half-man and half-machine. Your memory has been totally erased. The ensuing journey of discovery will pit you against hostile, morphing aliens, force you to bring a time-critical emergency situation under control, and finally take you to the unexplored ruins of a long-dead civilization. Your physical enhancements may be your only hope for survival. Current system requirements for BioForge are: IBM-PC, Intel486 or 100% compatible system 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended) 10 MB hard drive space MS-DOS 4.0 or higher 256-color VGA graphics MUSIC (optional): Sound Blaster, Roland RAP-10, General MIDI MPU-401 or 100% compatible sound board SPEECH/SOUND EFECTS (optional): Sond Blaster or 100% compatible sound board.