~Games Coming Soon

Compiled by Martin Keen


With Christmas fast approaching the computer industry has got itself
into a games releasing frenzy, all hoping their products will find 
their way into your Christmas stockings. So all the big names were 
at the ECTS show recently to show off their wares. Here's a preview
of some of the hottest games to be released within the next few
months:


~MAGIC CARPET 2 - Bullfrog - Due Out: Now 

Bullfrog have an superb history when it comes to producing quality
games. Last year Magic Carpet was the biggest seller over the 
Christmas period, and now they're hoping to do it again. But recently
there have been suggestions of Bullfrog cashing it on its Magic
Carpet game engine. High Octane used the same system but was a car
racing game - unfortunately nobody seemed to realise that the car
wheels would need to touch the ground but the game was released 
anyway. Will the sequel consist of just a few tweaks or will it be a
genuinely different game?

The information we've managed to maintain remains inconclusive. You'll
find new landscape effects and new creatures, and a completely new
set of spells available to cast. But none of these seems to 
significantly add to the gameplay over the original. No doubt Bullfrog
will have this one looking great but the jury is still out as to 
whether it's going to be a worthy sequel.


~FATAL RACING - Gremlin - Due Out: October

There are a whole load of racing games coming out over the next few 
months but one of the first to hit the shelves is going to be Gremlins
Fatal Racing. Its kinda a Stunt Car Racing for the 90's. Loops, jumps,
ramps and even corkscrews come into play in this 3D romp. It all aims
to be as realistic as possible with state of the art graphics but
don't believe everything you see. Just about all the screenshots
you'll see for this game are from the SVGA mode, but unless you've got
a Pentium you're not going to be able to use it. Instead the VGA mode
is a pixel-fest. Quite franky it looks a mess. The Amiga was producing
clearer graphics than this in 1985.

But after the disappointment of the graphics this game has a lot going
for it. There's the chance to play a 16 race championship in a 16
player network should you find a suitable computer setup. There are 
also 8 different cars on offer all from 8 different car companies. And
the Artificial Intelligence has been cranked right up for added 
realism. With so much competition on its way Fatal Racing is going to
have to be pretty good but as far as release dates go its in Pole
Position.


~NORMALITY INC. - Gremlin - Due Out: November

The Gremlin press release given at the ECTS does its best to skip the
rather important subject of Normality Inc.'s genre. Its one of these
CD-ROM extravaganzas with fancy graphics that just about take the form
of a graphic adventure. In most games of this type the adventure part
always seems to be an afterthought that has been added in once all the
graphics have been finished. Hopefully this one won't be anything like
that.

Normality Inc. is set in a 3D environment that allows total freedom of
movement. There's no moving along preset paths as in The 7th Guest  
here. You'll find 120 locations to explore as you watch your on
screen character move around with the help of motion capture. It 
should lead to some pretty smooth movement. Thrown in for good 
measure are over 100 FMV scenes which always add so much to a game's
budget but so little to its gameplay. Maybe just for once graphics 
and gameplay can successfully be combined in a rendered adventure 
game.


~ACTUA SOCCER - Gremlin - Due Out: October

The big selling point of this impressive looking football game is
England goalie Chris Woods has been motioned captured to make the 
computer drawn keeper's moves look realistic. Umm, excuse me here.
ENGLAND goalkeeper Chris Woods ?!? Five years ago maybe! 

If we forget about that everything else seems very impressive indeed.
All the outfield players have been motioned captured too thanks to
the movements of Andy Sinton and Graham Hyde. And here's where Actua
Soccer really gets one over on its main rival FIFA Soccer - they've
enlisted the commentary of Barry Davies, the man who did both the
World Cup and FA Cup finals. That beats Tony Gubba anyday! This game
will also have a co-commentator in the Andy Gray mould who will give
general comments on how the game is going.

Graphically the game uses the same engine as Fatal Racing which 
means although the action can be played in 3D the sprites pixelate
badly unless you've got a Pentium handy to run the SVGA mode. But
that aside there are the whole host of moves available: everything
from Matt Le Tissier style shots [MATTY FOR ENGLAND!] to players
taking Klinsmann type dives. Camera angles can be placed anywhere to 
capture the action as the 44 real international teams compete. Look
out for a '5 players on one PC' option too.

Overall Actua Soccer looks set to be the new footie king but 
unfortunately for Gremlin EA's FIFA 96 with Virtual Stadium is just
around the corner.


~SENSIBLE WORLD OF SOCCER - Sensible Software - Due Out: November

As the computer industry evolves Sensible Software are getting further
and further off the pace. In this day of true 3D and CD-ROM Sensible
still vow to stick with their tiny character sprites and back dated
graphics. This one is no change either.

When the original Sensible Soccer came out it scored highly with 
magazine reviews but couldn't compete with Kick Off 2 and Goal as
far as most gamesplayers were concerned. The sequel offers nothing
more than a few tweaks to the game engine; most of the improvements
have been concentrated in building up a management option. There are
1,400 clubs, 131 national sides, and 24,000 players to choose from
which is about as comprehensive as possible but once you get playing 
its back to those tiny graphics.  

Sensible desperately need to keep up with the times - this one is
laughably behind Actua Soccer and FIFA 96.


~Z - Bitmap Brothers - November

Basically its more or less Dune 2 brought up to date. This one
features robot soldiers with indiviual personalities apparently so
each needs to be treated differently. Get it right and they'll 
fight for you but mess up and they will run a mile instead of go
into battle.

There are modem, network, and serial links allowing up to 4 players
to play at once which should add significantly to the gameplay. There
is also the promise of CD speech and music too. As good as it sounds
there are three words which make all of this obsolete... Command And
Conquer!


~BAD DAY ON MIDWAY - Inscape - Due Out: November

This is the follow up to the little known but particually weird 
Residents Freak Show. Its again features the musical talents of
Californian band The Residents in an off-the-wall adventure. Its
almost impossible to describe so if you want a real taste of this
game try to get hold of a demo. It all boils down to solving puzzles
and listening to (what can loosely be described as) music.

Who knows what to make of it all. Probably set to take a cult 
following.
