News

Anyone coming new to the PC can pick up some great bargains with
re-released games and special offer bundles. Here are just a few
that have come out recently - Dune II (Hit Squad, œ14.99), Classic
Adventure Collection of Monkey Island 1, Indy and the Last
Crusade, Loom, Zak McKraken and Maniac Mansion (Kixx XL œ29.99),
LucasArts Adventure Pack of Indy and the Fate of Atlantis, Day of
the Tentacle and Sam and Max (US Gold, œ59.99), Classic Collection
of Delphine's Flashback, Another World, Cruise for a Corpse,
Operation Stealth and Future Wars (Kixx XL, œ29.99), Monkey Island
2 (Kixx XL, œ16.99), Cannon Fodder and Beneath a Steel Sky on
CD-ROM (Telstar, œ49.99).

On the sims side, SimRainforest has been renamed SimIsle :
Missions in the Rain Forest. Maxis have released a version of
SimCity 2000 for Windows (œ39.99) which has a few extras such as
an increased level of magnification, and the SimCity 2000 Urban
Renewal Kit which allows you to redesign any of the game's
graphics will be out soon.  Or you could try MicroProse's Zeppelin
- run your own airship company. The screen display will use
suitably atmospheric sepia-tinted graphics.

Bullfrog are working on a follow-up to Theme Park called Theme
Hospital. Yes, you too can introduce long NHS waiting lists
(oops, got a touch political there!).  They also have Syndicate 2
waiting in the wings. It will use a new engine similar to the one
used for Magic Carpet. Talking of Magic Carpet, look out for a
data disk featuring icy wastes and some more new monsters.

A mission disk is also on the way for UFO, entitled X-Com : UFO
Terror from the Deep. UFO2 will be out later this year.

Blue Byte have released a scenario disk for Battle Isle 2 called
Titan's Legacy.  It needs the CD version of Battle Isle 2 to run
and costs œ25.99. Their future plans include a new Windows game
called Shadow of the Empire which will use an enhanced version of
the Battle Isle 2 engine.


Also on the sequels side, 7th Level will be bringing out Return to
Krondor, the sequel to Betrayal at Krondor, in 1996. The sequel to
Under a Killing Moon is in production and will be 50% bigger than
the original; expect it later this year.  Dark Seed II will be due
late Winter and will run through Windows. There is also a sequel
to Innocent Until Caught on the way, called Guilty, in which you
can play either the male criminal or a female cop.

Sales Curve have Lawnmower 2 coming out late 1995 and Sierra have
Space Quest VI:  Roger Wilco in Innard Space where he gets shrunk
and injected into the body of a master crim, plus The Lost Mind of
Dr Brain, the latest in the series of puzzle games.  The RPG
Ravenloft 2: Stone Prophet will feature many improvements on the
first game.

Infocom fans rejoice! Planetfall: Floyd's Next Thing is due in the
winter. It will feature live actors and high res 3D backgrounds.
Also due around that time is Zork: Nemesis which will run through
Windows. Brian Moriarty is working on a maze game called Darkride.

William Shatner fans can also give a "Yippee" because a game is on
the way which is based on his TekWar book. It will be an action
adventure using a 3D engine from Apogee.

Tim Curry will be taking the part of Dr Frankenstein in a
forthcoming game from Interplay where you play the monster. The
game is aptly called Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the
Monster.

I like the sound of this one ... Louis Cat Orze: The Mystery of
the Queen's Necklace. It will be a Windows CD-ROM mystery
adventure set in 17th century France.  You have to recover the
Queen's necklace, aided by a young princess, the King's grandson
and a cat called Louis Cat Orze.

Legend are working on two games, Mission Critical, a free-moving
SVGA SF adventures, and Companions of Xanth 2. It looks as though
all future Legend games will feature SVGA graphics and, probably,
free movement a la 7th Guest.

There are rumours that Roger Zelazny is collaborating on an RPG
with Capstone.

If you like puzzle games like 7th Guest, Discis are bringing out a
similar game called Jewels of the Oracle.

Speccy fans from way back will be pleased to hear that a PC
version of the classic Tir Na Nog is on its way from Psygnosis,
programmed by the two guys who produced the original ... ten years
ago! It will be a combination of RPG, beat 'em up, puzzle solving
and strategy. It looks like it will be CD-ROM only and some time
in the spring. Who knows, it may beat Lords of Midnight!

For strategy fans, Colonization fans will find that Exploration,
set at the time of Columbus, looks very familiar in layout. It
comes from German-based Software 2000. Or you can follow the trail
of Marco Polo in the game of the same name; it will include clips
from the 1982 movie featuring Burt Lancaster and Leonard Nimoy.

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