More Power New Game Systems Faster, Fancier And - Of Course - More Expensive
If you’re a parent, you may have noticed this: Three times a year, there’s a slew of new video games and educational software that your kids suddenly are clamoring for.
There’s a reason: Three times a year - spring, fall and Christmas - the industry releases a flood of new stuff. The companies figure that spreading out the bounty makes it more likely that kids will have gotten tired of the old, and that moms and dads are more likely to be able to afford the new.
It can be tough for a parent to keep up. This year, it will be tougher still.
As usual, you can count on videogame-crazy kids wanting the latest games for their Super Nintendos and their Sega Genesis-es. But the video game industry has thrown parents a curve by creating four new game systems, too - all fancier, all more expensive and all but one totally incompatible with any system you may already have.
Which means that if your kid falls in love with, say, the new Sony PlayStation game system, none of the games you bought for Super Nintendo or any other current system will work on the new one.
But not to worry: Your friends in the video game industry are only too happy to sell you a whole new set of games.
In fact, the people who develop video games and those who publish magazines about the industry say that Sony plans to take a $100 loss on each PlayStation it sells, just so it can get the systems into the most possible homes this fall. The company presumably would recoup that loss with sales of games. A Sony spokeswoman would neither confirm nor deny that.
Some basics for parents
The new game systems are called Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo’s Ultra 64 and 3DO’s M2. The first three are totally new. The last one is meant to add on to current 3DO game systems.
What’s different about the new systems? Like the guy on “Home Improvement” says: more power. They have more computing power, which means their games work quicker, they can do more and their graphics look better.
There also are plenty of new games for the old systems (and new educational software for home computers, too), which were introduced in January at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas and which are now hitting store shelves.
Hot new games, software
Here’s a sampling of some of the latest and hottest new games and software (prices range from $39 to $79, and may vary from store to store):
Atari 2600 Action Pack For Windows (a CD-ROM made for personal computers using the Windows operating system; made by Activision; rated for ages 8 and up). Remember the Atari 2600 system back in the early 1980s that was considered state of the art? The same games you could play on Atari are back for Windows, including titles like Pitfall, Freeway, River Raid and Kaboom!
Clockwerx (a CD-ROM that comes in DOS and Macintosh versions; Spectrum HoloByte; age 8 and up). From Alexey Pajitnov, who created the wildly popular game Tetris, comes a more challenging (and addicting) puzzle game in which you must fix the stopped “master clock of the universe” and put time back on track.
The Daedalus Encounter (a CD-ROM for Windows PCs; Virgin Interactive; 13 and up). This is another of the genre of movies made directly for video games. It stars Tia Carrere, whom you may remember from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “True Lies.” It’s set in the 22nd century. Carrere leads post-war spaceship salvagers. This’ll keep your high-schoolers busy: The game takes three CD-ROMs and at least 20 hours to complete.
Descent (a CD-ROM made for PCs using DOS; Interplay; not rated, but aimed at kids 10 and up). Descent is unusual: It gives you the sensation of moving as much as 360 degrees in a realistic 3-D environment. As many as eight people can play simultaneously, via modems. Another futuristic game.
GEX (for 3DO; Crystal Dynamics; 8 and up). The hottest thing to hit 3DO. As cold-blooded Gex, a Gecko lizard, you travel through the demented TV world of the fiendish Rez. Gex never shuts up. Which is OK because he’s pretty funny.
Myst (for 3DO; Broderbund Games and Panasonic; 13 and up). A year after its release for other game systems, “Myst” is the best-selling CD-ROM title ever. Now, the recently released 3DO version is so hot that stores can’t keep it in stock. (Created by Spokane brothers Rand and Robyn Miller.)
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Floopy disk for Windows, Sound Source Interactive; 8 and up). Features the sounds from Darth Vader, Leia, Luke and more. Brings your PC to life with a little help for “The Force.”
SuperKarts (a CD-ROM for PCs using DOS; GT Interactive Software; 8 and up). Very realistic go-kart game. As many as eight people can play, using modems. Requires the use of the Gravis Joypad or a similar special controller.
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger - The Interactive Movie (a CD-ROM for DOS PCs; Origin; 13 and up). A “movie” made especially for video games. Stars Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell and John RhysDavies in a space adventure that combines Hollywood film techniques with computer graphics. You use a mouse to communicate with the actors and set the plot going in any of several possible directions. Takes four CD-ROMS and at least 20 hours to complete.
Alistar and the Alien Invasion (a CD-ROM made for Windows PCs; Simon and Schuster; 5 and up). Based on the children’s book series, the world of Alistar Griddle comes to life on a CD-ROM that teaches reading, observation and problemsolving skills.
Compton’s Encyclopedia of American History (a CD-ROM for Windows PCs; Compton’s NewMedia; 8 and up). This CD covers American history using entertaining videos, text, illustrations, narration and photos.
JFK: Assassination, A Visual Investigation (a CD-ROM for Windows PCs, Medio; 13 and up). Who shot JFK? - now you can have access to all the footage ever shot of the shooting with some never before seen by the public. Features 3D animation re-creations that lets you decide what happened; complete text of both Jim Marrs’ “Crossfire” and “The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Complete Book of Facts”; The Warren Commission Report and more.
Kidstory Series (a series of CDROMs for Windows PCs and Macintosh computers; Active Imagination and Packard Bell; 3 and up). Helps young kids learn computer skills with great animation and a variety of stories. Separate CDROMs are out for these stories: “The Friends of Emily Culpepper,” “The Wrong-Way-Around World,” “Milly Fitzwilly’s Mousecatcher,” “The Little Engine” and “The Pirate Who Wouldn’t Wash.”
Lost Mind of Dr. Brain (a CDROM for Windows PCs; Sierra; 12 and up). One of the best new children’s titles. Lets you enter the mind of Dr. Brain after a bizarre laboratory accident has mixed his mind with that of a lab rat. You visit different parts of the brain - and learn about the skills which that portion controls. Not an easy game even for an adult.
Not enough for you? Some other much talked-about games that will be available (some of them on all game systems, some on only one) as early as late summer include: Mortal Kombat 3, Daytona USA, Primal Rage, Killer Instinct, Panzer Dragon, Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken, Toshinden, Fight for Life, Killing Time and Slam ‘n’ Jam ‘95, as well as a game based on the movie “Batman Forever.”
And likely to be among the hottest educational software coming out later this year is the Star Trek: Omnipedia - Voice Activated Encyclopedia, an interactive electronic encyclopedia that learns your voice and responds to it.
xxxx Required reading Here are some magazines that can help parents keep up with all the new games and software for kids: Next Generation: The ultimate magazine if you want to know everything new about games for the high-end systems - 3DO, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PCs and Macs. Twelve issues cost $29. Call (800) 706-9500. Electronic Gaming Monthly: This middle-brow magazine has tips, reviews and previews that are are slightly more cutting-edge than massmarket magazines like “Gamepro.” Twelve issues cost $28.95, or you can get 24 for $49.95. Call (800) 444-2884. Gamepro: The best low-end magazine, with information about games for Nintendo, Sega, Jaguar, CD-I, Neo-Geo, 32X, 3DO and arcade systems. With tips, reviews and previews. Best bet: Buy an issue on the newsstands to check it out and get a subscription form. Twelve issues cost $19.97. Club Kidsoft: This quarterly magazine, which comes with a sample CD-ROM, reviews software programs with the help of elementary school kids, teachers and parents. Each CD has samples of at least 30 software programs. If you like a sample and want to buy that software, you call the company, give them your credit card number, and they give you a code number that unlocks a complete copy of the software from the same CD that held the sample. Club Kidsoft costs $29.95 a year. Call (800) 354-6150. FamilyPC: Full of tips, reviews and software giveaways. Aimed at helping parents learn which software and games for personal computers are best for them and their kids. Six issues cost $9.97. Call (800) 413-9749. HomePC: Dedicated to helping PC users to get greater use of their PCs, including reviews of new games and hardware. Twelve issues cost $12.97. Call (800) 829-0119. -Miami Herald
What are the differences between the new game platforms? OK, you finally figured out what Sega Genesis and Nintendo and Super Nintendo are. And you figure you’ve gotten the kids most of the best games for whichever of those home video game systems they made you buy. But wait. Your kids may soon be asking not just for new game cartridges, but for an entirely new game system. Four such game “platforms” will be coming out in the next few months. Here’s a guide for parents, so you’ll at least know what Junior’s talking about when he begs that he’s gotta, just gotta have a Sony PlayStation or one of the other new (and ever-more expensive) systems: Sony PlayStation: This 32-bit, CDbased video game system will be available in early September from Sony Computer Entertainment of America for an estimated price of $300 to $400. (The company isn’t saying, but that’s what others in the industry and at the magazines that cover the industry expect.) The games will look as good as what your kids see at the arcades, with life-like graphics and sound - that’s PlayStation’s big draw. One drawback with any new system is the lack of games that are available at first. But software developers are rushing to put together games for PlayStation. More than 20 games are expected to be available when the system goes on sale in the United States, and 100 more should be available in time for the Christmas rush - including “Mortal Kombat III,” the latest version of the gory classic that kids love. Sega Saturn: This 32-bit, CDbased system is in stores now, from $400 to $450. Again, the attraction here is better arcade-like technology - better sound and graphics straight from Sega’s interactive theme parks. As with Sony PlayStation, figure that more than 20 games should be available at first, with 100 more ready by Christmas - including Acclaim’s “Batman Forever,” based on the movie that will be out in June, and “Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball.” Nintendo’s Ultra 64: For $250, you’ll get the most sophisticated home system ever made sometime this winter - that is, if Nintendo can meet its self-imposed deadline. Most details about this system are still under raps. But expect “great” graphics - like the arcade version of the popular (and, again, gory) “Killer Instinct,” only better. 3DO’s 64-bit M2 Accelerator: With the new 32-bit systems breathing down 3DO’s corporate back, the company will take on Nintendo in the more technically sophisticated 64-bit market. The M2 - which, unlike the other new systems, lets you add on to your current 3222-bit 3DO game player, rather than having to buy a whole new system - incorporates the high-speed PowerPC chip. No price has been announced. 3DO’s 32-bit games have been among the best available. If the M2 works like it has in demonstrations, 3DO may move to the head of the 64-bit pack, too.