News

More CD-ROM conversions are here, or on their way. Theme Park was
released on both floppy and CD-ROM in July (œ39.99/œ45.99). A
CD-ROM talkie version of Companions of Xanth also appeared around
that time but it doesn't sound as though it has been much of an
improvement on the original (sorry, Mum, I know you loved it!).

On the other hand, the CD-ROM version of Simon the Sorcerer
features Chris Barrie as Simon, sounding just right for the part
by all accounts. One review I saw of it said that the guy who
plays the swampling, Jon Haines, was also excellent, maybe even
better than Chris Barrie!

Simon the Sorcerer 2, subtitled The Lion, The Wizard and The
Wardrobe, is expected in September. Sordid the Sorcerer, who Simon
bumped off at the end of STS1, returns as a ghost with a
time-travelling wardrobe with which he kidnaps Simon. Fortunately
his plans go awry and Simon ends up in a shop owned by Calypso the
Wizard. Calypso isn't the only one to have gone into the retail
business; the swampling has also opened a chain of fast food shops
called McSwamplings. The game will evidently be harder than the
original and the CD-ROM version, which will, again, feature Chris
Barrie as Simon, will have added sound effects as well as speech.

Sid Meier's latest simulation will be Colonization which sounds a
bit like Civilization but takes place in just one historical era,
1500-1800, and the aim is to explore and colonise a world, either
historically accurate or randomly generated. Technological
development is still important, but so are political concerns, the
economy and military power.

Maxis are busy too, with several products on the way. SimTown is a
younger player's (8-12 year) version of SimCity 2000 with larger
graphics and less emphasis on the economy. Clicking on a building
will show the people inside, leading their sim-lives and some
areas of houses yield spot animations.

SimTower is a bit like SimCity - only vertically! Can you manage
the population of a high rise building with restaurants, living
quarters, offices etc? Maxis are evidently trying to integrate
these towers into existing sim cities.

SimWorld aims to link all the Sim products together so that you
can fly or drive round the cities. However, I read that the
hardware requirements will be massive - even a Pentium may not be
powerful enough ...

Two new SimCity 2000 add-ons are on the way too. The first is
Cities of the World which will contain 10 real cities for you to
manipulate. The SC2000 Urban Renewal Kit will let you design your
own buildings and graphics to make your cities even more
individual.

Lemmings 3 will be a 3D version of the game. Watch the lovable
rodents scamper their way across bridges and the like over 120
levels. Power ups are being implemented for this latest game.

Sierra have 3 games on the way. Phantasmagoria is a CD SVGA horror
tale using 18 professional actors and actresses to create a
terrifying atmosphere. King's Quest VII will be the biggest ever,
coming on TWO CD-ROM disks. Space Quest 6 will be out later this
year on CD-ROM with a cut-back floppy version next year.

Sir-Tech are releasing 3 classic RPGs on one CD-ROM, the Wizard
Trilogy 2 will contain Heart of the Maelstrom, Bane of the Cosmic
Forge and Crusaders of the Dark Savant and will cost about œ50.
They also have two new titles planned - Star Trail, a fantasy RPG
and Jagged Alliance, a strategy role-paying simulation.

Core Design, who produced Curse of Enchantia, are working on a
new graphic adventure called Universe. It is expected in
September.

Also look out for:
Discworld from Psygnosis, based on the Terry Pratchett books - a
graphic adventure.
Master of Magic - from MicroProse. A strategy, fantasy adventure
similar to Master of Orion with a point and click interface and
five difficulty levels.
Ecstatica - similar to Alone in the Dark but using ellipses rather
than polygons.
Menzoberranzan from SSI - a first person scrolling RPG based round
the Forgotten Realms stories and using an enhanced Ravenloft
engine, it even allows levitation!
Kyrandia 3:Malcolm's Revenge - the latest in the saga.













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