MEAN MACHINES

July 1992

Issue 22

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NEWS SPECIAL CES SHOW

SEGA’S SCRUMTIOUS [excerpt, pg. 14 – pg. 15]

 

Sega’s stand was very impressive this year and there were loads of product on display. Top of the lot was obviously Sonic the Hedgehog II. I tried filming it on my camcorder but was bundled away within seconds by an army of bouncers - as you can see from the pictures. Mind you, I was hardly surprised that Sega didn’t want shots taken of the game. The demo was very early indeed and you’d be hard pressed to tell the differences between it and the original version - there was none of the promised hangliding, railcart riding or underground burrowing! We’ll be bringing you exclusive updates throughout the year - stay tuned.

 

Other big-name characters included Indiana Jones, Batman Returns (the game of the film), Batman: Joker’s Revenge (a game based around the original comic), Evander Holyfield (and his boxing game), Ariel the Little Mermaid and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (in the fab-looking World of Illusion, the sequel to Caste of Illusion). All those are scheduled to appear on Megadrive, and all but Batman: Joker’s Revenge and World of Illusion are to appear on Game Gear.

 

Original Sega product included Greendog the Surfer Dude (a very weird, but very neat platform game), Streets of Rage II (similar, but with much beefier, Final Fight-esque sprites), Chakan the Forever Man and B-Bomb.

 

Sega were also showing off their new Menacer light gun - a direct competitor to Nintendo’s Super Scope. It’s very neat, as you can see from the picture, and will be released in October with Terminator II: Arcade Game conversion. We’ll bring you a full report later on in the year.

 

If you were looking for Master System product, the CES Show was completely lacking anything remotely resembling a Sega 8-bit dedicated machine. The problem is that in the US, the Master System has been pensioned off and since all new games are now being programmed in Europe and Japan, there wasn’t much call to show it off. That’s not to say that there’s going to be a Master System software drought – there’s still plenty coming out for the machine in this country - but as far as the US is concerned, the Master System is dead.

 

Game Gear is alive and kicking, though, and along with the games listed above, we’ll be seeing Taz-Mania, Chakan: The Forever Man, Ayrton Senna’s Super Monaco GP II (let’s hope it’s better than the scabby Master System version), Dave Robinson’s Supreme Court Basketball, Home Alone , Sonic II, Shinobi II, Tale Spin, Wimbledon Tennis, Defenders of Oasis, Chessmaster and Aerial Assault. Wheeeeeee.

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Q+A USER FRIENDLY

WHO’S HUW JANUS? [excerpt - pg. 36]

 

Dear Jaz

 

I am another one of those PROUD Megadrive owners, anyway please please please could you answer these questions for me.

 

1. When will Aliens 3 be out for the Megadrive and is it any good?

2. Which game would you recommend. Strider or Decapattack?

3. Will Sonic 2 be a two-player?

4. Is Bioship Paladin any good?

 

Alex Manning, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft

 

JAZ:

1. Read the preview later on this issue for all the details ‘n’ stuff.

2. Strider I suppose.

3. Yes, but not simultaneous as far as I know.

4. It’s okay, but nothing to wet your knicks over.

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Sonic II was on display, but the problem was…

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…that they didn’t like people videoing the game…

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…and some big bouncers grabbed you when you did!