Lynx Shanghai, more CES game news
Robert Jung
PART I -- I've just heard that SHANGHAI for the Atari Lynx has been released
and sighted at Electronics Boutique. Any Lynxers out there want to verify?
(I'll probably check myself after I get off the modem here... B-)
PART II -- Since everybody is lookign for video game information from the
Winter CES, here's another message I grabbed from a first-hand CES visitor
account. Take this and the earlier report from "Drazil Reptillian", and
slap them together to get a conglomerate report...
==============================================================================
Conf : The Game Hall (Gaming CROSSNET)
Msg# : 316 Lines: Extended Read: 6
Sent : Jan 13, 1991 at 10:45 AM
To : ALL
From : Helvetica Bold
Subj : More CES...
My God, what a filthy town! The show was really nifty, though... I think
Drazil got most of the important stuff, but just to be sure...
Sega: The Game Gear was shown... It's sort of a half-way between the Game
Boy (which they specifically are competing against in their advertising)
and the TurboExpress... i.e. very Lynx-esque. Nothing terribly
spectacular, but not bad either... I think this is gonna become another
Master System: Nothing wrong with it, but not enough right with it to
really make it big. The Sega booth was HUGE, and mostly consisted of
Genesis stuff. There were easily over 100 games in various stages of
development being shown for the machine. One of the more
promising-looking games was "Sonic the Hedgehog," which is very
Mario-esque... no, more like Mario after a six-pack of Jolt! The graphics
were spectacular - ultra-smooth multi-layered scrolling, lots of color and
action, and not a drop of flicker in sight!
Atari: The new Lynx is for real. It's about the same size as the Game
Gear, but looks and feels MUCH more slick. Remember the Cylon spacecraft
from "Battlestar Galactica"? It reminds me of one of those, with rubber
grips on the back of the unit. All the old software will work on the new
machine, but the carrying cases and the sun visor won't work on the new
unit. At least a dozen new games under development were being shown.
STUN Runner, Cyberball, Block Out, Fidelity Chess, and too many more to
remember. A couple of ST's and Portfolios were there, a 7800, and even a
2600 with what appeared to be a new game! :-) The no-frills Lynx will be
$99 (bye bye, Game Boy!), while the deluxe package (with A.C. adaptor,
California Games, AND Chip's Challenge) will retail for $149.
Nintendo: Obviously the largest booth. Lots and lots of games, though
none in particular really stood out. They showed a bit of the Super
Famicom... looks VERY juicy! Otherwise, "more of the same."
SNK: Perhaps a dozen NEO-GEO games were being shown, though I don't know
why. None looked any more interesting or all that graphically superior to
what's available on the Genesis or TurboGraphix.
NEC: About as exciting as Nintendo's booth (yawn), only smaller. I
finally got to play with a TurboExpress... It's about 3 feet thick, weighs
900 pounds, and it's true that some games simply become unplayable when on
that tiny high-res screen... The ones I played with seemed to have that
"smearing" effect also.
==============================================================================
That's it, Lynxers, mark those calendars -- TOURNAMENT CYBERBALL and
S.T.U.N. RUNNER are coming...
--R.J.
B-)
//////////////////////////////////////|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Send whatevers to jj...@nunki.usc.edu | If it has pixels, I'm for it.
--------------------------------------+----------------------------Lynx me up!
"If it moves, shoot it. If it doesn't move, shoot it anyway."
Dave Goldblatt
Path: interlan.InterLan.COM!samsung!usc!chaph.usc.edu!aludra.usc.edu!jjung
From: jj...@aludra.usc.edu (Robert Jung)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Summary: Lots more Lynx stuff, boring booths, Game Gear, city cleaning, etc.
Date: 13 Jan 91 23:44:17 GMT
Sender: ne...@chaph.usc.edu
Organization: O-Mayer V BBS
Lines: 72
Nntp-Posting-Host: aludra.usc.edu
This message is in two parts:
That's it, Lynxers, mark those calendars -- TOURNAMENT CYBERBALL and
S.T.U.N. RUNNER are coming...
Hallelujah! That's why I bought my Lynx! ;-)
(Well, one of the reasons. BTW, is Shanghai similar to {or the same
as} the Activision version {PC + Mac}?)
-dg-
--
"Never, I repeat never, * Dave Goldblatt [da...@interlan.com]
give peace a chance!" * Diagnostic Engineering
- _Zarlor Mercenary_, * Racal InterLan
Atari Corp. (Lynx) * Boxborough MA (508) 263-9929
Robert Jung
>Robert Jung, quoting others from a BBS, presumably:
Of course -- Us defense contractors don't get to go to CES. And since
nobody else had any firsthand reports...Besides, I thought I made it clear
that I was just porting messages intact from someone else.
>> [The Lynx II is] about the same size as the Game Gear, but looks and feels
>> MUCH more slick.
>
>I disagree completely. The new Lynx looks "plasticy", and cheaper
>than the Game Gear... (to me)
Well, that's because it _is_ cheaper ($99 vs. $149) than the Game Gear! B-)
I imagine the big emphasis with the Lynx II would be that it plays Lynx games
for less, and not how the casing feels.
>> The no-frills Lynx will be $99 (bye bye, Game Boy!),
>
>*snicker* that's why they're having massive layoffs at Atari right?
>Yeah, Bye bye Atari, perhaps... My gameboy *still* kicks ass as far
>as *fun* and *enjoyable* games that *I* like.
I believe the "massive layoffs" are for Atari US, not Atari Corp. as a
whole (don't have enough information yet). Besides, Dave, you think
TurboGraphix-16 games are fun to play (snicker, joke, grin).
By the way, does anyone know what's the expected price for the new
16-bit game systems (I think only the Super Famicom and [rumored] Panther
are going to be released in the 'States)? If there's a recession coming
down, the lowest-priced game systems may grab the market.
Dave Taylor
> One of the more promising-looking games was "Sonic the Hedgehog,"
YEAH! AWESOME, BRILLIANT TITLE!
SEGA was also showing video tape of a new title "Fantasia", featuring
Mickey Mouse in yet another adventure. Looked quite hot too.
> It's about the same size as the Game Gear, but looks and feels MUCH more
> slick.
I disagree completely. The new Lynx looks "plasticy", and cheaper
than the Game Gear... (to me)
> The no-frills Lynx will be $99 (bye bye, Game Boy!),
*snicker* that's why they're having massive layoffs at Atari right?
Yeah, Bye bye Atari, perhaps... My gameboy *still* kicks ass as far
as *fun* and *enjoyable* games that *I* like.
> while the deluxe package (with A.C. adaptor, California Games, AND
> Chip's Challenge) will retail for $149.
Bzzt. The new "deluxe" Lynx (two systems? Market confusion already?)
will contain California Games and *a coupon for any other title*
according to Marken Communication (their PR agency (#3 since the intro
of the Lynx, btw))
>Nintendo: Obviously the largest booth. Lots and lots of games, though
>none in particular really stood out.
Mickey's Dangerous Chase for the GameBoy (CapCom) looked fun. The
InfoGenius language translators, travel resources, etc, were AMAZING.
(one of 'em is a 2MB cartridge. Not bad, eh?) Star Tropics for the
NES got a heavy rollout too. And F-1 RACE for the GameBoy (4 player!)
was quite fun. Did I mention the Maze 2000 GameBoy game? It'll support
"at least 10 players" according to the developer (Bullet Proof Software,
a *great* company with Pipe Dream and Tetris/GameBoy under their belt).
>SNK: Perhaps a dozen NEO-GEO games were being shown, though I don't know
>why. None looked any more interesting or all that graphically superior to
>what's available on the Genesis or TurboGraphix.
Yeah, the Neo Geo was rather ignored by the masses, from what I saw.
>NEC: About as exciting as Nintendo's booth (yawn), only smaller.
There were a couple of cool games there, of course, including BomberMan
whom my friend Marvin claims is the next "hot" title for the TG16. I
was more enthused about Bonk II, even though the signs were still in
Japanese. Other keen titles too, many "very Japanese" too.
-- Dave Taylor
Intuitive Systems
Mountain View, California
tay...@limbo.intuitive.com or {uunet!}{decwrl,apple}!limbo!taylor
Michael Portuesi
> *snicker* that's why they're having massive layoffs at Atari right?
> Yeah, Bye bye Atari, perhaps... My gameboy *still* kicks ass as far
> as *fun* and *enjoyable* games that *I* like.
I had the opportunity to play pretty extensively with my nephew's Game
Boy when I visited my family for the holidays. I only had four
cartridges to play with, but the only one I found interesting was
Tetris. Out of the others, one was a motocross game, one was a game
from the Castlevania series, and the fourth was so forgettable I don't
remember what it was anymore. If this was a representative sample of
Game Boy games, I'd much rather see the Game Boy killed by the Lynx,
TurboExpress, or the Game Gear.
m.
--
__
\/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics, Inc. port...@sgi.com
"A wise wife will realize that the welfare of her family actually
is based on her husband's welfare, and vote to free him from an
onerous chore so that he can spend the time in ways that renew his
energy and stimulate his mind."
--Nina Fischer, "How to Help Your Husband Get Ahead"
part of the Amy Vanderbilt Success Program for Women
Howard Chu
>16-bit game systems (I think only the Super Famicom and [rumored] Panther
>are going to be released in the 'States)? If there's a recession coming
>down, the lowest-priced game systems may grab the market.
According to CNN, we're in a recession already. (Wow, it didn't even make
any funny sound-effects or anything. How blah...) I saw another post
saying probably $250 for Super Famicom (god, I hate these Japanese -> English
names...) and <$200 for Panther. We'll see.
--
-- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
Flame all you want - we'll take more.
Scott Hauck
Well, I've recently bought a Sega Genesis and love the ratings
report, but I missed the reviews of many of the games and can't figure out
from their boxes what they're really like (ie. Herzog Zwei, Zoom!, Shove-It).
So, what I'd like to start is a capsule summary service for the Genesis.
Every month (more often while I try to complete this list) I'll send out the
list below, which contains one paragraph per game. In it should be whatever
someone should know before buying the game, except for what's already in the
ratings report. So "saying it sucks" isn't any help, but saying it's
different to the arcade version for such and such a reason is exactly what I
want.
So, what I'd like from you guys is capsule summaries to fill out the
lists below, as well as price ranges and criticisms of what's already there.
I'll try to incorporate everything I get. Thanks in advance,
Scott Hauck
Ha...@cs.washington.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afterburner II
Air Diver
Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast Price Range: ??
Side-scrolling shooter with power-up items that turn character into
were-creature. Reasonable variety, but some problems with the gameplay (sitting
duck during transformations). Very similar to arcade game, but graphics not as
good.
Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf
Batman (J)
Burning Force
Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Price Range $40
Super Mario Bro's with a Disney twist. Lots of variety and many
creative levels (Candyland, a Giant's study, a castle, etc), but with not much
hidden items to discover. Spectacular sound, graphics, and attention to detail,up to Disney standards. Definitely not just for kids.
Columns
Curse (J)
Cyberball
Final Zone
Fire Shark
Forgotten Worlds
Ghostbusters
Ghouls 'N Ghosts Price Range $60-65
Side-scrolling shooter with multiple weapons and 1-stage powerup (magic armor). Lots of variety, good gameplay and creativity. Almost identical to
arcade game, and very similar to Ghosts 'N Goblins.
Golden Axe
Hard Drivin'
Hell Fire
Herzog Zwei
John Madden Football
Klax
Lakers Vs. Celtics And The 1990 N.B.A. Playoffs
Last Battle
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Mystic Defender
Phantasy Star II
Phelios
Populous Price Range ???
Become a god raising land from the sea to help your worshippers, and
sending disasters against your computer-controlled opponent. As your people
prosper your power grows and your ability to hurt the opponent increases.
Very little variety (once you've played one match you've seen all there is
to see), but an ever-improving computer opponent makes this addicting.
Rambo III
Revenge Of Shinobi Price range ???
Side-scrolling shooter with you guiding a ninja against your enemies.
Uses shurikens, swords, and ninja-magic. Lots of variety in levels and
opponents, and good graphics and sound. Similar to but not the same as Shinobi
(limited shurikens, more levels, multiple hits before your death, no hostages
to rescue). Somewhat hard to control, but comes with practice.
Shove It!
Space Harrier II
Strider
Super Hang-On
Super Hydlide
Super Monaco G.P.
Super Thunderblade
Sword Of Vermillion
Target Earth
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
Tommy Lasorda Baseball
Truxton
Whip Rush
World Championship Soccer
Zany Golf
Zoom!