Portable Addiction: 15-Dec-91 #008

From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/15/92-05:09:48 PM Z


From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Portable Addiction: 15-Dec-91 #008
Date: Wed Jul 15 17:09:48 1992


Contributed By: Andy Norman <ange@hplb.hpl.hp.com>

   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                  PORTABLE ADDICTION ISSUE #O8  15 DECEMBER 1991
      THE NEWSLETTER FOR ATARI LYNX, SEGA GAMEGEAR, NINTENDO GAMEBOY AND 
                            ATARI PORTFOLIO USERS
   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+

         Tjerk "MegaJerk" Heijmens Visser ...... (EDITOR)
         Yiri "Neuromancer" Kohl ............... (EDITORIAL ASSISTANT)
         Alex "Killer of Laura Palmer" Borburg . (GAMEBOY STAFF WRITER)

         Thanks to ....  FunTronics Computer Shop, Electronics Boutique,
                         Amsterdamned BBS, Dutchman Data BBS,  Mr. Doom,
                         Robert Jung,  Decoder,  Andre "ALU" Luyer,  B J
                         Gleason and all the others that made this PA
                         possible.

   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                  CONTENTS:

              Editorial .......................... by Yiri Kohl
              Hot news and gossip .............................
              Questionaire ....................................
              Master Gear Converter Review ....... by Yiri Kohl  SEGA
              Dirty Larry Lynx Preview ........... by Yiri Kohl  ATARI
              Bill & Ted's E.Adventure .......... by Mega-Tjerk  ATARI
              The Big BJ Gleason Interview ....... by Yiri Kohl  ATARI
              Tournament Cyberball .............. by Mega-Tjerk  ATARI
              Castlevania ..................... by Alex Borburg  NINTENDO

   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
        .
               ## ### ##    .        Editorial....
          .    ## ### ##   +
      .     +  ## ### ##  .           Aaaaargh!  Once again our editor is
               ## ### ##      +      at it again!  He went on holiday for
    +      .  ### ### ###   .        one whole month to Thailand. Anyway,
             ###  ### .###           that means  that once again you will
       . ######   ###   ######  +    have to do with me!  Har!  Har!  But
         ####  .  ###     ####       seriously now.  It seems that Europe
                       .             is finally catching up with the good
                                     old US as Lynx games are starting to
     get out faster and faster over here. As you might recall, last issue
     was delayed because of the release of some games NOT yet released at
     the other side of the Atlantic   (from our point of view, that is!).
     As you might have already noticed,  Portable Addiction has changed a
     bit this month. And yet it will change even more next month, as many
     of you have  requested,  we'll start a  GameBoy section,  altough we
     don't even really want this ourselves,    we won't just give GameBoy
     games low  ratings:-) As a sort of a preview we have printed a first
     GameBoy review in this issue which you can find at the end.
     Anyway,  if you have any  suggestions  on improving  this newsletter
     even more,  write to us.
     Now one last note.  It seems that some people were quite angry about
     the mistake we made by putting in the news about the fact that  SEGA
     would not produce the TV-tuner and  Gear-to-Gear cable any more.  We
     have to point out that we can't check if all the news that's send in
     to us is true!  We just place the news we receive.
     Well, that's it for this month!  Read and enjoy!  Sayonara!

                                                Yiri "Neuromancer" Kohl
                                                Editorial Assistant


   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


             +  .         +         .         .   +               .    +
      .       .    H O T    N E W S    A N D    G O S S I P    +         .
         +      .              +            .                 .      +

 

     Jaguar.....   The Jaguar seems to be nearing completion now.    With
                   it's twin 32-bit microprocessor,  a keyboard,  and not
                   only cartridges as data storage,   but also input thru
                   CD-Rom and even  VHS-tapes,  this will not be yer very
                   average console!  Running at a speed of 16Mhz, this is
                   going to be one of the fastest and best consoles ever!

     Lynx.......   On PACLAND,  get the highest score and enter your name
                   as 330NE to get 1O lives.  As long as this is the high
                   score,  the cheat will work.  As we  don't get much of
                   these cheats,  we dropped  our Cheat-Corner  long ago.
                   Some of you will be glad to know that Atari has opened
                   up a Lynx Help-Line.  The number is:

                          1 - 708 - CRY - LYNX   (1-708-279-5969)

     Lynx.......   OOOPS!  In our review of  Ninja GaiDen,  we said there
                   were unlimited continues!  Recently I played this game
                   again and couldn't  complete it anymore  without using
                   any continues.  It was only then that I found out that
                   the game has only TWO continues! Although this doesn't
                   increase the value of the game,  it might just be good
                   news for all  the so-so and  average video-ninjas  who
                   were still thinking wether they should buy the game or
                   not.  Meanwhile,  we are eagerly awaiting Ninja GaiDen
                   3: the Ancient Ship of Doom and we hope that this game
                   will be more difficult.

     GameGear...   Well,  a magnifier for the GameGear has been released.
                   It's just a magnifier that  works in a similar fashion
                   to the one available for the GameBoy, so nothing's new
                   there. The thing has a slightly misleading name though
                   as it is called The Wide Gear,  just like the piece of
                   hardware that sends GameGear  video output to a normal
                   TV screen.   There is also another magnifier available
                   from some unknown Japanese company.  More news when we
                   have it.

     Lynx.......   The manuals will be back in the old form.  The posters
                   will also be continued,  but as posters only   (no in-
                   structions on it)

                   1.000.000 Lynxes have been sold now  (not even a third
                   of the total of Game Boy's but....) Half of which were
                   sold in the US.

     Jaguar.....   The Jaguar will  not be Lynx  compatible  (although an
                   adapter has been announced) but it will be able to run
                   ST games.




   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


      YEP!  ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE BACK WITH YET ANOTHER...  QUESTIONAIRE !!!!


      Ok, so you might get a little sick by now by all our questionaires,
     but it seems that most people just don't  even take any time to fill
     in a simple questionaire. As we intend to change PA in the future we
     would once again like to know what YOU think of PA.  So please, send
     it back in!   Just cut this part of the file out and send it back by
     E-Mail!!!  Thanks!
     You can send it to: tjerk@nikhef.nl   on Internet, and to bd831   on
     Cleveland Free-net.


     >Are you                  >What type of game do you prefer (State 2)
           Male ...... O
           Female .... O       Platforms ...... O    Shoot em up .... O
                               RPG/Strategy ... O    Puzzle games ... O
                               Sports ......... O    Simulations .... O
                               Other, _________ O

     >Which machines do you either own or intend to buy
      within 6 months?                                          OWN   BUY

     Amiga 5OO/1OOO/2OOO/3OOO etc .............................  O     O
     Atari ST 52O/ST 1O4O/TT/Mega STe etc .....................  O     O
     IBM Compatible (Please state configuration!) .............  O     O
     Macintosh (Please state type) ............................  O     O
     Commodore C16/Vic2O/C64/C128 .............................  O     O
     Spectrum .................................................  O     O
     Atari 26OO/78OO ..........................................  O     O
     Atari Lynx  (Please state model AND serial number) .......  O     O
     Sega GameGear ............................................  O     O
     Sega MasterSystem (Please state model) ...................  O     O
     Sega MegaDrive/Genesis ...................................  O     O
     Nintendo GameBoy .........................................  O     O
     Nintendo Entertainment System ............................  O     O
     Nintendo SuperFamicom/SuperNES ...........................  O     O
     NEC TurboGrafx/SuperGrafx etc ............................  O     O
     NEC TurboExpress .........................................  O     O
     Other, namely  __________________  .......................  O     O

     >Do you think we should continue to cover the Sega GameGear?

                   YES! ........ O     No way! ........ O

     >Do you think it would be a good idea for us to cover the GameBoy?

                   YES! ........ O     No way! ........ O

     >What do you think of the game reviews in Portable Addiction?
      (Select as many as you like)

                     Too long .................... O
                     Too short ................... O
                     Not enough info ............. O
                     Great ....................... O
                     Pure S**T ................... O

     >Which other (electronic) handheld magazines do you read?   _________


   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


                  -=>   Hardware Review by Neuromancer   <=-
                   -=>      MASTER-GEAR CONVERTER       <=-
                    -=>           From: SEGA           <=-

      Well,  as the Master-Gear  Converter has finally been released,  we
     just though it was a nice idea to test this little gadget.  Expecta-
     tions were very high of course, as this thingy opens up a huge soft-
     ware library  for those who also  own a Master System.  So we rushed
     out and bought the piece of hardware.

      The first thing that strikes you is the size of the machine.   It's
     a huge module that plugs in the cartridge-port of the GameGear.  The
     thing is black with an ugly blue knob on it.  Nothing spectacular so
     far!   When you plug the thing in,  your Gear suddenly becomes a lot
     heavier.  And when you plug in  a cartridge  in the converter,  your
     GameGear is as heavy as a brick!  The thing feels very unfortable in
     your hands and this is of course a major drawback!

      Luckily the thing works perfect.  We tried some games on it and all
     was converted well.  Some games ever  looked better  on the Gear due
     to the far higher resolution.   Still,  as many games are based on a
     normal  TV screen or monitor,  they become  very hard to see.  (Take
     Shanghai for example!).  Anyway,  it still is a very worthy purchase
     for every Gear and  Master System owner.   If you own  both of these
     machines, rush out today and buy it,  but remember the uncomfortable
     feel of the thing.


   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                    +++++--------------------------+++++
                     ++++      LYNX  Preview       ++++
                      +++       DIRTY LARRY        +++
                       ++  Written by Neuromancer  ++
                        +--------------------------+

      You take the role of Dirty Larry (Gosh, original name!)  as you rid
     the city of crime!  As you  can imagine,  ridding an  entire city of
     crime is quite a task for only one cop! But luckily you're no normal
     cop.  You're the most violent cop ever!  As you battle your way thru
     the city streets, warehouses and subways, you kick,  punch and blast
     away all sorts of enemies,  from psycho baseball  sluggers to Arabs.
     Weapons and medical kits are strewn everywhere, so you don't have to
     rely only on your fists.

      The characters on-screen are huge (for a Lynx game),  which reduces
     the playability a bit.  This is,  of course, just a slight drawback.
     As this is the first  game of this type  (Horizontal-Kick-AND-Shoot-
     Em-Up)  you don't have that much choice. The game is reasonably good
     but that's it.  It looks nice, though, but Double Dragon III for ex-
     ample, would be a far better game to appear on the Lynx.

      Dirty Larry can be  released any moment now,  so  check your  local
     dealer.

   +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


              ++++++--------------------------------------++++++
               +++++             LYNX Review              +++++
                ++++  BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE  ++++
                 +++             1-2 Players              +++
                  ++       Written by: The MegaJerk       ++
                   +--------------------------------------+

      At first you  think that this game is just  another maze game (like
     Gauntlet the third encounter,  and we obliterated that game), but it
     stretches the idea much farther. It is more like a RPG than Gauntlet
     but it isn't a real RPG either, for that you have to wait for Storms
     over Doria.

      In order to find their girlfriends,  who have been kidnapped by The
     Grim Reaper,  you have to  follow the path through  time they marked
     with notes (music notes of course). And  you also have to find pages
     of a special  phone book, the  book has numbers  for  different time
     eara's. As  luck would  have it,  you have a  phone booth which  can
     travell through time.

      As the game is viewed from above  (like Gauntlet III)  there is not
     much detail in the graphics but they are not all that bad. The music
     is not bad either, but  it gets a bit nervous after  a while.

      The game play is really fun.  While you look for notes  you have to
     avoid  dangerous beasts etc. And you'll stumble upon people who will
     offer some  help in return for something else, so you have to search
     even longer for that! On your search you will find obstacles in your
     way, and you'll have to find a way around it...
     As you find certain items you have to avoid time paradoxes (you need
     to return certain objects to the period you found them in).
     It's a miracle that Bill and Tedd  are smart enough to solve this in
     the movie cause can get quite hard later on in the game (with things
     like mazes packed with beasts!!!).

      The poster/manual gives  more information than normal, but it still
     isn't  perfect. It doesn't  mention the  amount of time  periods you
     have to travel, so you don't know if you're close to the end or not.
     But on the  poster Bill asks Tedd : "How much is six times  sixteen"
     (notes are hidden in  groups of sixteen). So that implies that there
     there are six time periods, but that  does not have to be the number
     of time periods.

      On the rest of the game I don't have  much comments, except for the
     password feature. The  password is too big (16 characters!!!!!!), it
     takes too  long to fill in,  and of course you have to write it down
     (and not loose it).

     +--RATINGS OF MEGAJERK---------------------------------------------+
      Graphics ...... 6.O : Not special but not too bad either.
      Sound ......... 5.5 : Nice tune, but droney. No FX.
      Playability ... 6.O : Good gameplay, but the password is too long.
      Lastability ... 8.O : It takes long to solve the game.
      Overall ....... 6.5 : The game is not bad, but if you want a real
                            RPG you'd better wait for Storm over Doria.
     +--RATINGS OF NEUROMANCER------------------------------------------+
      Graphics ...... 7.O : As a graphic artist I know how difficult it
                            is to draw this type of game.
      Sound ......... 7.5 : I think the title music is just great.  The
                            in-game music is indeed droney, though.
      Playability ... 8.7 : I don't think that the password influences
                            gameplay that much, and the game plays like
                            a role-players dream!
      Lastability ... 7.5 : After solving the game, interest will fade.
      Overall ....... 8.3 : I think it's tremendous!  Megagreat!

      As I have also tested this game, and since I don't completely
      agree with the editor, we thought it would be nice if we printed
      the opinions of both of us....
     +------------------------------------------------------------------+


   +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+


                     THE BIG  B.J.GLEASON  INTERVIEW

     Well,  here it is!  The big BJ Gleason interview!  As many Portfolio
     phreaks might be interested in the stuff BJ does AND as this  is the
     last issue  in which we will  cover anything about  the Portfolio we
     thought this would be a nice idea.   Have fun!


   PA>When exactly did you start programming?   How did you learn it, and
     most important of all, why?  And, on what machine?

   BJ-When I graduated from high school in 1979, my parents helped me buy
     a  Radio Shack Model 1  computer.   I learned  BASIC  programming by
     reading the books that came with the computer.  In the beginning,  I
     just played around, writing games.   I was going to college to be an
     Electrical Engineer,  but I moved over to Computer Science during my
     first year.


     >At the moment the processors are  growing faster and faster.  Don't
     you think  that if the programmers  took just a  little bit  time to
     structure  their programs a little better, take Windows for example,
     that these processors aren't even THAT vital?   It seems that with a
     bit of structured programming the Portfolio is capable of doing very
     spectacular things.

     -I live by  the motto  "Computers can never be too fast".   However,
     there are a lot of sloppy programmers out there who use the speed of
     a computer as an excuse to write bad programs. If you take the time,
     you can do some pretty amazing things with the Portfolio.    All you
     have to do is to look at Don Messerli's  PGFLIX animation package to
     see someone pushing the limits of the Portfolio.


     >Why and how did you  ever start programming for the  Portfolio.  Or
     why did you buy one in the first place?

     -I always wanted a portable computer and I have owned a lot of them.
     The Tandy Model 100, the Date General One, the Amstrad Portable, and
     the Sinclair Z88, but none of them really fit the bill.   I wanted a
     Poqet computer,  but at 2000 dollars,  I couldn't really justify it.
     I saw the advertisement for the  Atari Portfolio in a magazine,  and
     ordered it right away.

     I started programming for the Portfolio when I moved from New Jersey
     to Washington DC.   Since I had a  lot of free  time on my hands,  I
     wrote code.   I was originally on GEnie,  but there was very  little
     activity going on.   The Portfolio Forum on Compuserve was much more
     active.   It was  about that time  when I realized that,  due to the
     limitations of the  Portfolio,  that a new software  niche had  been
     created.  I ordered the Technical Reference manual and started
     writing.


     >Is the Portfolio a help in your day to day work?

     -The Portfolio is indispensable in my life.  As a teacher,  I use it
     to keep track of my students grades,  I keep my lecture notes on it,
     and have the telephone numbers of my students in case I have to call
     them.

     As a student (I am working on my PhD in Educational Administration),
     I take notes on it.  When I get home, I transfer the notes to my PC,
     edit them and store them for later reference.

     I also travel a lot, and the port goes with me as an electronic
     diary.  I bring a copy of PBASIC with me so I can program, and
     PORTRIS for fun.


     >Wouldn't it be a great idea if programs for the  Portfolio used the
     graphical functions a little more? With a slightly smaller font, the
     File Manager could look really cool.  Or would this take up too much
     processor time?

     -Because of the hardware difference in the video memory on the Port-
     Folio, regular graphics programs will not work on it.   Two program-
     ming  languages,  PowerBASIC, and PBASIC 4.9 both  now allow  mixing
     text and graphics on the same screen.  This is a slow process, since
     the characters must be drawn on the screen bit by bit.   PBASIC also
     allows different size characters (half-height, double-height,  half-
     width, double-width, etc).

     The big  problem  with smaller  characters is that they  become much
     harder to read.   David E. Stewart has a file  viewer called  60COLS
     which allows for sixty character by 12 lines,  but,  it is sometimes
     a bit tough to read.


     >The Portfolio is gaining interest all over the world.  Do you think
     that the Hewlett Packard palmtop still stands any chance?   And what
     do you think of this machine yourself?

     -The HP95LX  is a different machine.   In fact,  in England,  DIP is
     selling both the Portfolio and the HP!  The HP machine, while having
     a larger  screen and more  memory has a much  smaller keyboard,  and
     costs twice as much.  Since you can find the Portfolio for about 230
     dollars, it is almost an impulse buy, whereas the HP is not.

     Since the HP is more compatible with the PC, it won't need the level
     of support that the Portfolio needs, which is good, but it might not
     lead to some of the really neat software we have seen developed in
     the Portfolio arena.

     I would not buy an HP,  mainly because I have the Portfolio,  and it
     does everything that I need.


     >I can't really say that I have seen that much programs by your hand
     lately. Can this be because the Portfolio might not be as popular in
     Europe, or have you just stopped programming for this little wonder?
     And if so, why?

     -No no no!  Nothing of the sort.   I am still  programming the Port-
     Folio, in fact, in December I will be releasing a new version of the
     PBASIC  Editor  for the  PC which will  have all the  Portfolio-Only
     features emulated,  so the program will run the exact same on the PC
     or the Portfolio.

     I am a teacher at the American University in Washington DC, and
     things can get a bit hectic.  I am teaching several classes,  taking
     several classes for my PhD, and have to write papers, book chapters,
     serve on committees, and other things. This eats up a fair amount of
     my time.

     The other reason is feedback from users,  or actually, lack of feed-
     back.  Things had slowed down in the forum,   new ideas were few and
     far between, and with all my other work,  things had slowed.   Plus,
     writing  the larger  software,  such as the editor,  eats up a  fair
     amount of time as well.

     It is very  important for users  to give feedback to the  authors of
     the software.  We are always looking for new ideas for programs.  On
     Compuserve,   we have created a new message section called WISH LIST
     for people to tell us their ideas.   They are surprised to  find the
     programs they wished for written in a day or two,  sometimes in just
     a few hours!

     In order to get back into the swing of things,  Don Messerli,  David
     E. Stewart and I have  created a programming  marathon for the Port-
     Folio.   We are programming like crazy to make sure that we each up-
     load a new program every three days.  This will make sure that there
     is at least one new program a day from November 1 to December 31.  A
     number of other users have also contributed, so we are now averaging
     almost 3 new programs a day!

     But what we really need are ideas.   Almost everybody  who has  ever
     sent  me  a  note  about a  new  feature  they  would  like  to  see
     implemented in PBASIC or any other program has had their idea imple-
     mented.  We need ideas and feedback.


     >How do you compile your Portfolio programs?   What utilities and/or
     assemblers do you use?

     -I use the Borland line of Turbo Programming Languages.   For PBASIC
     I use  Turbo C  2.0.   I have  also used  Turbo  Pascal,  and  Turbo
     Assembler.   When I am going to write a program,   I pick a language
     based on what the program is.   Each language has its  own pros  and
     cons.  Pascal  produces  a smaller  program,  but  C is  better  for
     pointers, and has a richer standard library.   Assembler is used for
     critical code,  or making  it  very small.  For example:  Atari  has
     developed a  special promotional  ROM card in  conjunction with  the
     Terminator 2 movie.  In the movie the Portfolio is used to guess the
     PIN  number at a  money  machine.  The program,  written in  Pascal,
     required about 5k of disk space. Since we wanted to include a number
     of different programs I rewrote the PIN program in Assembler, and it
     only required 330 bytes,   allowing for an extra 4.7k of programs on
     the disk.

     I normally write all my program on the PC, using the Emulation soft-
     ware from Atari.  I then transfer the programs to a memory card with
     the PC Card drive, and test them on the Portfolio.


     >Isn't programming for a machine with such limited memory a pain?

     -Yes, and no.  I would  be nice to have more memory,  but it pro-
     vides a challenge to make the programs small and faster.  I am
     happy that I have the PC Card Drive, since it really speeds up
     the process of program development.


     >Now just one thing I always wanted to know myself. Using a
     serial interface with the Portfolio,  isn't it possible to connect a
     mouse/trackball to the machine?  If so, would it be necessary to re-
     program the drivers, or could one just use standard drivers?

     -The serial port on the Portfolio uses a different address and
     different interrupt structure.  In theory, it would be possible, but
     you would have to rewrite the mouse/trackball driver. It sounds like
     a good idea... maybe I'll work on it.

     >And last of all, what do you think of the future of the Portfolio?

     -The Portfolio  is here to say.  A ccording to rumors,  it and  the
     Lynx are the only two departments making a  profit for Atari.   The
     Portfolio forum on  Compuserve has  pasted the 500 files mark,  and
     with the efforts of the programming marathon team,  we expect to be
     at 600 files by December 31st.

     There is a huge amount of support,  and there are more than 250,000
     machines in the US alone.   The machine has hit  the critical mass,
     and will continue to around for a long time.


     >Anyway, thanks a lot for your time and help! Bye!

     -Thank you.

     Thanks to BJ Gleason of The American University for all his help.


   +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

              ++++++--------------------------------------++++++
               +++++             LYNX Review              +++++
                ++++      TOURNAMENT CYBERBALL 2072       ++++
                 +++             1-4 Players              +++
                  ++         Written by: Megajerk         ++
                   +--------------------------------------+

      Everybody expected  very much of this game. Cyberball  was great in
     the  arcades, Tournament  Cyberball 2072  was even better.  So you'd
     think that the Lynx version would be a real knock-out too. But let's
     say that the great previews the "real" magazines gave you were a bit
     too optimistic.

      When  you start  the game  you get  to hear  a  not so  great voice
     mentioning  the name of  the game.  You  hear something  like this :
     Toun%$^\*amnt Cyberball. Now I've heard worse, but on a Lynx this can
     be done better, espescially when you see the rest of the game....

      The rules are quite simple, it is just  American Football, but here
     you have five downs instead of four. But the  poster/manual does not
     explain those rules.  Atari thinks that everybody  knows those rules
     (not that they are all necesary but...). American Football  might be
     popular in  the US, but here  in Europe it  is at the  same level as
     soccer (real football) is in the US.
     Well at the beginning of the game you can choose your coach and team
     but it makes no difference.
     The game  starts with a kick-off, to  determine where you  start the
     play.

      The first few screens aren't that disappointing but when you get to
     play  you  will  see  that  the  robots are far  to small  for  good
     destinction. That  is due to the seize of the  Lynx screen, but they
     could have used some kind of zoom mode to zoom in to the action. The
     robots look quite good for  their seize,  but then you  have to look
     very closely.
     The main  bad points are the  play preferences, the ammount  of time
     you have to choose your play and the  inability to make moves on the
     field. If you choose a play it doesn't really  matter which play you
     choose, most of  them can be executed  succesfully.  When you choose
     your play, and maybe your new robot, you only have a few  seconds to
     make your choice.  For a beginner it is not  enough time to think, a
     veteran  will not  complain. All  this is done  because each  period
     lasts five minutes and there are six periods. So that means that you
     have  to play for half an hour (!) (time keeps running while you set
     your  options,  it  only stops  when you  take a  time-out  (one per
     period).  Because the  screen is so  small you  can not  really  see
     when your opponent is going  to hit you. And to make an interception
     yourself  is  virtually  impossible. If  you're  lucky  one of  your
     computer controlled players will intercept a ball.

      Now,  we have  flamed the  game enough.  There  are also  some good
     points about the game.
     The graphics  and stuff may  not be the best,  but I just  loved the
     type of game-play. I love this type of game, maybe NFL-football will
     suit me better  in terms of graphic quality etc. with  the same type
     of play.
     The sound is not special, but the FX are  quite nice (nothing more).
     Well,  that is  not really  positive,  but maybe  there  just  isn't
     anything to be positive about.... Oh well....
     At least it  looked better than the Amiga  version of Cyberball (not
     Tournament...).

     +--RATINGS---------------------------------------------------------+
      Graphics ...... 4.5 : Not good at all, due to the screen seize.
      Sound ......... 4.5 : Not much music,FX nice,voices could be better
      Playability ... 6.0 : Controles quite good, but the screen....
      Lastability ... 6.0 : Not too long, better wait for NFL.
      Overall ....... 5.0 : Everybody expected this to be better, but
                            it is an arcade game, it won't fit on a Lynx
                            without more severe changes.
     +------------------------------------------------------------------+

  +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


      It seems to be that there's more than an  Atari Lynx or a Sega Game
     Gear. There also  is a Dot Matrix  Game Boy,  another product of the
     commercial Nintendo family.
      After Tjerk saw me walking in school with my Nintendo Club Magazine
     (Yes,  even people of my  age read  that shit...)  he asked me  if I
     wanted to write Game Boy reviews.
     Looking at my financial position I would  have to say no. But, lucky
     me, I've got friends  with lots of  Game Boy games,  so my answer to
     Tjerk was: Yes!
     And here am I: Alex the killer of Laura Palmer.

             +++++++--------------------------------------+++++++
              ++++++           GAME BOY Review            ++++++
               +++++      THE CASTLEVANIA ADVENTURE       +++++
                ++++              1 Player                ++++
                 +++    Written by: Alex the killer of    +++
                  ++            Laura Palmer              ++
                   +--------------------------------------+

     My first review is sort of a test, so it'll be only one.

     Some time ago the Castlevania Adventure reached the Game Boy dealers.
     Reading on my Nintendo Club Mag that it was  a great game,  I ran to
     the store.  On the box I saw this horrible vampire picture,  and the
     back of the back of the box read the most exciting story....

     Playing the game is less exciting.  It is clear  that my imagination
     went further that reality.  No vampires with blood and dead virgins.
     But that isn't the only problem. The game looks a lot like ghost and
     goblins, and the graphics are simple, but they could have been worse.

      After playing the  first level you've  seen enough. Your mission is
     to kill Count Dracula and, I think, to kill boringness while playing
     this game.

      Then the sound.  It's one of the most monotone game music I've ever
     heard since I stopped playing Commodore 64 games.

      The word  adventure can't  really be found  in this game.  If I had
     known this before,  I wouldn't have bought the game.  My advice: Try
     it once. Maybe you'll like it,  but I think there are better ways to
     spend your money.  But tastes are different....

     +--RATINGS---------------------------------------------------------+
      Graphics ...... 6.0 : Ok, but simple.
      Sound ......... 5.0 : Very monotone.
      Playability ... 6.5 : At first it seems funny.
      Lastability ... 4.5 : Ooh my god!!!  Not another level!!!
      Overall ....... 5.5 : Not a waste, but not a great investment
                            either.
     +------------------------------------------------------------------+

  +------------------------------------------------------------------------+

         AND THE LAST BIT.....    (OR BYTE, WHATEVER YOU MIGHT PREFER)

      Well, it has been another hell of a month.   Next issue is also put
     together entirely by me, so it might be a bit of a thin one.  Anyway
     we plan to have any more GameBoy and GameGear reviews,  and maybe we
     will throw in something  like a Bill & Ted's players  guide or some-
     thing like that.  Thanks for reading, and we hope you've enjoyed our
     first "new-look" issue.
                                                Later, dudes!
                                                Yiri "Neuromancer" Kohl

  +------------------------------------------------------------------------+


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