News Right, here are some games to look out for. Some of them may already be out by the time you read this issue. There are several new Doom-alikes on the way. The well-publicised Quake - or whatever its name finally turns out to be - is due out in the summer and comes from Doom's authors, id Software. It has a D&D setting, is based on a campaign one of the team used to run and will have excellent network play. Apogee's Build engine is being used to bring out several games through US Gold - for starters there's Ruins which will have an Egyptian theme, and there's also the demon-filled Blood. Apogee/3D Realms are also working on Shadow Warrior and Prey; the latter is SF based like Quake but hopes to out do it, with intelligent aliens to fight, better weaponry, good multiplayer support and, eventually, release of a level editor. They are aiming to further reduce pixelisation and extra features include the ability to swing on ropes and turn the hero's head without turning his body. Meanwhile, there's Descent II - 10 new weapons, 30 more levels, toggled floodlights, afterburner speed doubler, 30 new robot enemies, and modem and 8-player network play with player controlled surveillance cameras. A 3-level demo can be downloaded from http://www.interplay.com Gremlin's Realms of the Haunting is an adventure featuring pre-rendered 3D sprites and due in the summer. It contains 90 minutes of FMV and uses a 400-page script. One of the authors is Tony Crowther so it should be a convoluted game, going by past experience! Azrael's Tear is also a 3D adventure with SVGA texture mapped scenes. The Pandora Directive is the follow up to Under a Killing Moon and stars Barry Corbin, Tanya Roberts, Kevin McCarthy and Chris Jones, again, as Tex Murphy. The story is built around the Roswell incident, combining a serial killer and a government cover-up with more complications than you can think of. It will be DOS and Win 95 compatible, with better movement than the first game, two levels of play and three routes leading to seven different endings. Broken Sword, the latest offering from Revolution (Beneath a Steel Sky), is also due in the summer. The credits for the game are excellent - sprite artists who worked on All Dogs Go To Heaven and Tank Girl, layouts from an ex Don Bluth Studios artist and music from Barrington Pheloung who wrote the Morse theme. Fans of Might and Magic should look out for Swords of Xeen, a 14 meg completion of the Might and Magic IV/V RPGs. SirTech have several packages on the way. First up is Wizardry Gold, an upgraded and enhanced version of the last game in the series. It will have new SVGA graphics, interface and sound track and will come in Win 95 and Windows 3.1 versions. You can import existing parties into it too. Nemesis will be the latest Wizardry adventure which is due in September 1996. Shadows over Riva is the third in the Realms of Arkania (Blade of Destiny, Star Trail) series and, finally, Deadly Games is a strategic tactical game following on from Jagged Alliance and featuring single scenarios and campaigns, new weapons, new mercs, scenario editors and more. Command and Conquer is still taking the world by storm, in more ways than one. The sequel, Command and Conquer:Red Alert, has a WW2 setting in an alternative universe where the Nazis didn't come to power so the fight is between Allied and Soviet forces. There will be a lot of new features including 6 player multiplay. Finally, here are a couple of promised release dates: Callahan's Saloon (Legend) - Sept 96 Magic of Xanth (Legend) - autumn 96 Return to Krondor - June 96 Shadows over Riva (Arkania III) has been delayed until the summer. - o -