Vol 1 No 1 was cover-dated December 1993 and cost £3.95. 2 cover disks were attached.
Contents[]
Regulars[]
Contents - 2 pages (5-6)
Planet Gamer - Matt Bielby - 1 page (9)
Cables - 1 page (52)
Reader Survey - 1 page (123)
Subscribe - 2 pages (124-125)
Shop-o-matic - 2 pages (126-127)
Competition - 2 pages (128-129)
Next Month / Why the Hell... - 1 page (130)
Coverdisks[]
Coverdisks! - page(s) 10-13
- Games featured: Beneath a Steel Sky, Micro Machines, Krusty's Fun House, Graham Gooch World Class Cricket, Subwar 2050 (PC)
Scoop![]
Pagan: Ultima VIII: - Matt Bielby - page(s) 14-16
- Quotes: Richard Garriott (Origin)
- Games featured: Ultima VIII - Pagan (PC)
Sam and Max: - Gary Whitta - page(s) 18-19
- Quotes: Michael Stemmle, Steve Purcell, Sean Clark (LucasArts)
- Games featured: Sam and Max Hit the Road (PC)
Theme Park: - Gary Whitta - page(s) 20-22
- Quotes: Peter Molyneux (Bullfrog)
- Games featured: Theme Park (PC)
Sim City 2000: - Matt Bielby - page(s) 24-25
- Games featured: SimCity 2000 (PC)
Lords of Midnight: - Matt Bielby - page(s) 26-27
- Quotes: Mike Singleton (Maelstrom)
- Games featured: Lords of Midnight (1995) (PC)
Evasive Action: - Gary Penn - page(s) 28-29
- Quotes: Glyn Williams
- Games featured: Evasive Action (PC)
Rebel Assault: - Matt Bielby - page(s) 30-31
- Quotes: Sam Donahue (LucasArts)
- Games featured: Star Wars - Rebel Assault (PC)
Eyewitness[]
The carpet people - page(s) 34
- Games featured: Magic Carpet, Creation (PC)
Dino mania! - page(s) 35
- Quotes: Dan Marchant (Virgin Interactive)
- Games featured: Lost Eden (PC)
Offensive? (Er, yes. Very) - page(s) 35
- Games featured: Unnecessary Roughness, Man Enough (PC)
Domark step up the pace… - page(s) 35
- Games featured: F1 (PC)
Campaign gets a modern day update - page(s) 37
- Games featured: Campaign II (PC)
EA's Winter line-up - page(s) 37
- Games featured: SSN-21 Seawolf, Labyrinth of Time, The, Forgotten Castle (PC)
Alone in the Dark 2 - page(s) 38
- Games featured: Alone in the Dark 2 (PC)
Chaos Engine almost here - page(s) 40
- Games featured: Chaos Engine, The (PC)
And so's World of Soccer… - page(s) 40
- Games featured: Sensible World of Soccer (PC)
Litil Divil 'almost done' - page(s) 40
- Games featured: Litil Divil (PC)
Interplay's Stonekeep out February '94 - page(s) 40
- Games featured: Stonekeep (PC)
Amazon Queen - page(s) 40
- Games featured: Flight of the Amazon Queen (PC)
Fury of the Furries - page(s) 41
- Games featured: Fury of the Furries (PC)
Dreamweb - page(s) 41
- Games featured: Dreamweb (PC)
Inca II is here! - page(s) 42
- Games featured: Inca II - Wiracocha (PC)
World warriors! - page(s) 43
- Games featured: Star Reach (PC)
The best sim? - page(s) 43
- Games featured: Pacific Strike (PC)
It's weird! - page(s) 43
- Games featured: Living Ball (PC)
An all-time classic shoot! - page(s) 43
- Games featured: Uridium 2 (PC)
Wet wars! - page(s) 43
- Games featured: S.U.B. - Strategic Underwater Battles (PC)
Cast The Bloodnet - page(s) 44
- Games featured: Bloodnet (PC)
UFO returns - page(s) 44
- Games featured: UFO - Enemy Unknown (PC)
Hand Of Fate - page(s) 44
- Games featured: Fables & Fiends - Hand of Fate (PC)
Cyber space - page(s) 44
- Games featured: Cyberspace (PC)
F-14 Fleet Defender readies for take-off: - page(s) 46
- Games featured: Fleet Defender (PC)
Lord of the Stars - page(s) 47
- Games featured: Starlord (PC)
Mowing lawns on disc - page(s) 47
- Games featured: Lawnmower Man, The (PC)
Survival of the fittest - page(s) 48
- Games featured: Unnatural Selection (PC)
Back to the grim dungeon - page(s) 48
- Games featured: Dungeon Master II - The Legend of Skullkeep (PC)
On the Wing… - page(s) 49
- Games featured: Star Wars - X-Wing - B-Wing (PC)
Master of Orion - page(s) 50
- Games featured: Master of Orion (PC)
Gremlin get busy - page(s) 50
- Games featured: Premier Manager 2 (PC)
Escort Pilot - page(s) 50
- Games featured: Overlord (1994) (PC)
Chinny Reckon! - page(s) 50
- Games featured: Cannon Fodder (PC)
Features
Profiles: Dave Gibbons - Gary Whitta - page(s) 36
- Quotes: Dave Gibbons
- Games featured: Beneath a Steel Sky (PC)
Infogrames speak! - page(s) 39
- Quotes: Hubert Chardot (Infogrames)
- Games featured: Alone in the Dark, Alone in the Dark 2 (PC)
Profiles: Charles Deenen: - Gary Whitta - page(s) 41
- Quotes: Charles Deenen (Interplay)
- Games featured: Star Trek - 25th Anniversary, Star Trek - Judgment Rites, Castles II - Siege & Conquest (PC)
Profiles: (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Garry Kasparov))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))): - Gary Whitta - page(s) 46
- Quotes: (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Garry Kasparov)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
- Games featured: Kasparov's Gambit (PC)
Opinion
- Neil West - (37)
- Paul Stephens - (39)
- Stuart Dinsey - (42)
- Stuart Campbell - (45)
- Mark Ramshaw - (49)
Features[]
Terry Pratchett: Going by the Book: His Discworld novels have had readers in stitches for a decade by poking fun at the Dungeons & Dragons genre. But now that the best-selling books are set to become a graphic adventure for the PC, the author's making sure their humour survives the transition intact. - Gary Whitta - page(s) 54-61
- Quotes: Terry Pratchett, Gregg Barnett (Teeny Weeny Games), Angela Sutherland (Teeny Weeny Games)
- Games featured: Discworld (PC)
Reflected Glory: How Cyberdreams are buying real-world credibility with big sci-fi names. - Matt Bielby - page(s) 64-67,69-70
- Quotes: James Lamorticelli (Cyberdreams)
- Games featured: Dark Seed, Dark Seed II, CyberRace, Hunters of Ralk, I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (PC)
Games of the Year 1993: - Andy Butcher - page(s) 115-116,119
- Games featured: Space Hulk, Formula One Grand Prix, Ultima Underworld II - Labyrinth of Worlds, Star Wars - X-Wing, Strike Commander, Tornado, AV-8B Harrier Assault, Call of Cthulhu - Shadow of the Comet, Syndicate, Lemmings 2 - The Tribes, NHL Hockey, Dune II - Battle for Arrakis, Rules of Engagement 2, Lands of Lore - The Throne of Chaos, Day of the Tentacle (PC)
Smart Ideas: - Andy Butcher - page(s) 119
- Games featured: Alone in the Dark (PC)
PC Heaven: The PC Gamer Programmer's TV Challenge - 1 page (120)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: A game proposal by DID.
Reviews[]
Star Trek: Judgment Rites - PC
- Whether you're a Star Trek fan or not, you're likely to find this a hugely entertaining and richly rewarding experience. As an adventure (and combat section aside, that's basically what it is), Judgment Rites is everything it should be - varied, original and well scripted, with plenty of crafty puzzles. And as a Star Trek game it's about as perfect a tribute as you're ever going to get.
IndyCar Racing - PC
- Definitely the best driving game, beating Formula One Grand Prix and Car & Driver. A Must Buy!
TFX - PC
- But as far as competence and appeal goes, TFX passes with flying colours. If you think flight sims too fiddly to be worth the effort, this'll convert you. But seasoned players shouldn't be put off by the game's friendly face. TFX still offers all the depth and dazzling complexity you'd expect a in a high-profile simulation - and a bit more besides.
Beneath a Steel Sky - PC
- In fact, it's at least as good - although not as funny - as anything that LucasArts has come up with in the last year. But as for the hyped claim that it's "The World's First Computer- based Animated Comicbook Adventure," well, I'm still far from convinced. Just take Beneath A Steel Sky for what it is and not for what it may otherwise pretend to be and you'll have a whale of a time.
Brutal Football - PC
- Once again, the PC is being asked to emulate more primitive consoles and, once again, the results are ever-so slightly embarrassing. Sorry, but this isn't a patch on the altogether better Speedball 2.
Jurassic Park - PC
- It all adds up, then, to a reasonably ambitious film game - no ropy platformer, this - which plays to some of the PC's strengths and provides a value-for-money-ish amount of gameplay. However, a few weak elements spoil things somewhat, particularly the over-simplistic gameplay and disappointing raptors of the 3D section, meaning the latter half of the game only reaches around 50% of its true potential. It's good, but could've been better - a perfect representation of the film, in fact.
Even More Incredible Machine, The - PC
- You won't find yourself sitting up all night playing it, but you'll continue to dip in now and again. It's overpriced, but you'll probably get more long-lasting enjoyment out of this than most other games that are on offer this month.
Network Q RAC Rally - PC
- Now all this doesn't make Rally a particularly bad game - it's well presented, challenging and there's a lot to it. It's just a crying shame that the most important aspect of the rally experience - the vital 'feel' and sheer power of rally racing action - has been left out of an otherwise high quality program.
Ryder Cup: Johnnie Walker - PC
- Perfectly average in ever way, Ryder Cup is nothing fo get excited about basically
Krusty's Fun House - PC
- Krusty's is a Good Game, but you're only likely to stay with it if you're really into this sort of puzzle-arcade mix. Those with just a passing interest, like me, will find their minds wandering after a few levels. If you're looking for a new Lemmings variant, however, this is definitely one of '93's better puzzlers.
Goal! (1993) - PC
- Technically, it's probably inferior to Sensible Soccer, but I can actually see some people preferring it nevertheless. I'm not quite convinced yet, but I think it's starting to win even me round…
NFL Coaches Club Football - PC
- NFL Coaches Club is a quality program that, even though it lacks some of the razzmatazz and excitement of the real thing, covers the technical aspects of the game well. I found it slightly too dry, but if you're not bothered about snazzy views and hyper-frenzied commentaries (and you fancy the idea of customising everything, from the players to the playbook), you'll love it.
Front Page Sports: Football Pro - PC
- Whether you like this more than the slightly more technically impressive and detailed Microprose game all boils down to personal taste. Me, I prefer Football Pro for sheer atmosphere. Yes, it's let down by some unapproachable options. Yes, it requires you to pore over the manual a bit too much. But it makes up for these deficiencies with good-looking visuals, great sound effects and gritty footy realism. Good fun.
Frontier: Elite II - PC
- Despite the presentation, Frontier is great and it'll keep you going for even longer than the original. I loved it.
Shadowcaster - PC
- Of course, I've not answered the all-important question - is it better than Ultima Underworld? - yet, and, to be honest, that's because I've been putting it off until the last possible moment. Hmm... It's probably a photo-finish, really, although Shadowcaster just pips it for me as it's that bit more varied and accessible. Still, whatever others may think of it, Shadowcaster proves one thing - that the future for 3D RPGs has never looked brighter.
Rags to Riches - PC
- There are clearly a lot of good ideas in this game, especially when you get into insider dealing, dodging the IRS and selling hundreds of shares you don't actually own, but the main body is so flawed that I can't see it holding anyone's attention for long. Gordon Gekko would, I suspect, be bored rigid.
Global Domination - PC
- I enjoyed Global Domination, but it does fall a bit flat when you're playing by yourself.
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands - PC
- This is a well presented game which builds slowly, but firmly hooks you once you've solved one or two of the early puzzles.
SimFarm - PC
- One of the better economic sims around, but the farm setting won't appeal to all.
Yo! Joe! - PC
- Yo! Joe! doesn't push your PC to the limit, but it's definitely been designed by people who know their gaming onions. Fabulous. I'll certainly be playing it for a while yet.
Tesserae - PC
- Tesserae might have some curiosity value as part of a compilation of PD games, but paying £29.99 for it is lunacy. It must have taken ten minutes to design and you'd be doing well if you were still playing it after half that time.
Wing Commander: Privateer - PC
- The perfect sequel to Wing Commander, with good balance between strategy and action.
Street Fighter II - PC
- Street Fighter II is likely only to appeal to die-hard fans and then, if you're that serious about the game anyway, you'd be better off splashing out the extra cash for a Super NES and playing a decent version.
Bram Stoker's Dracula - PC
- Add to that little list the fact that this lacks Wolfenstein's speed, excellent samples and stonking great guns, and you get an initially appealing game that soon reveals itself to be unoriginal and seemingly incapable of adding anything very much new at all.
Lost in Time - PC
- That's not to say, of course, that the whole thing isn't quite absorbing. The puzzles are mostly logical, the graphics pleasing and the plot, though baffling in a mysterious Gallic way, quite entertaining. But it's more of an interactive story than a true adventure.
Kasparov's Gambit - PC
- Nothing startling, but nothing naff either. It's good, solid chess with a stout heart.
Oscar - PC
- If you're still looking for that first truly great PC platformer- something which seems as elusive now as it did five years ago, a criminal state of affairs - you'd do much better to look elsewhere.
Speed Racer in The Challenge of Racer X - PC
- Worst of all, there just isn't any playability. Your car slips and slides all over the road seemingly at random. There's no feeling of 'gripping' the tarmac, no skidding around corners, no nothing. The controls are also sluggish and unresponsive, and then there's the collision detection. That's awful too. And crashing tends to lead to five minutes of frustration as other cars. pile into you from behind and you can't get enough speed to pull away. In short, Speed Racer has nothing to recommend it. Just don't buy it.
Edward Grabowski's The Blue & The Gray - PC
- The best campaign-based PC wargame to date.
Battle Chess Enhanced - PC
- Flashy and stylish, but ultimately rather shallow. For novices or the easily impressed only.
Lord of the Rings: Vol. I (CD) - PC
- Lord Of The Rings is standard role-playing fare, suffering from a poor mouse control system and a complete lack of original or exciting features. The still graphics are good, but the sprites dull and poorly animated.
Dracula Unleashed - PC
- Entertaining, and it shows the potential of video in PC games, but there's still some way to go.
Return to Zork - PC
- It's a nice idea, and a brave one, but it doesn't really work. Sure, it's impressive to look at and listen to, but as an adventure game? The puzzles are largely obscure, illogical or just plain frustrating, you see, and it's extremely difficult to get into the story because the bargain-basement actors used during the live-action segments are so unbearably hammy.
CJ's Elephant Antics - PC
- There's nothing really wrong with CJ's. In fact, it's quite a good example of this type of game (Codemasters do this sort of thing in their sleep these days). Unfortunately, it's also an incredibly dated platformer that might appeal to a three or four year old, and is hardly the sort of thing to light most serious PC gamers' fires.
Knights of the Sky - PC
- If you're after a bit of fun, a reasonable number of missions, and lots of neat period detail, this could be the game for you. In a slightly crap and old sort of a way, I liked it a lot.
Links: The Challenge of Golf - PC
- Couple these three niggles with the fact that, unless you've got fast PC, the backdrop graphics (nice as they are) can take an age to redraw and you've got a golf game that looks good, has lots of nice ideas, will keep you going for quite a while, but just isn't accessible enough to tempt beginners. Give me good ol' PGA Tour Golf anyday.
Night Shift - PC
- It's not that the tasks are particularly difficult, it's just very hard to see what's going on. The graphics are such that it's difficult to work out what's a piece of background scenery and what's something you can actually stand on or manipulate. I can't help thinking that if you like silly puzzles and weird contraptions and all that sort of stuff, you'd be much better off getting, say, The Incredible Machine.
Merlin Challenge - PC
- Fun for about five minutes, Merlin's problem is that there just isn't anything to it. Though it might seem so at first, it doesn't actually take much practice to pull off an "excellent landing," even at its hardest level, and since you only get sent back to the title screen for doing so, why bother? The most chronic of flight sim buffs might enjoy it, but for the rest of us this is a bit of a waste of cash, even at budget price.
Utopia: The Creation of a Nation - PC
- Admittedly, it's not a bad introduction to strategy games if the subject matter appeals, but I can't help thinking you'll probably get very bored of it long before you're anywhere near exhausting every level of the game.
Diagnostics[]
Tornado - Survival Guide - 2¼ pages (108-110)
911 Emergency (110)
Systems[]
Games Gear - Simon Williams - 2 pages (112-113)
- Desperate for the best PC set-up? Want to know what extras you should add to transform your system into the ultimate gameplaying machine? PC Gamer runs through the basics.
Adverts[]
Games
- Subwar 2050 - 2 pages (2-3)
- Star Trek: Judgment Rites - 1 page (4)
- Kingmaker - 1 page (8)
- Micro Machines - 1 page (17)
- Premier Manager 2 - 1 page (23)
- The Lords of Power - 1 page (53)
- TFX: Tactical Fighter Experiment - 2 pages (62-63)
- Detroit - 1 page (68)
- Fire & Ice - 1 page (71)
- Hired Guns - 1 page (111)
- Powermonger, RoboCop 3, Push Over, Risky Woods, Birds of Prey, WWF European Rampage Tour - 1 page (118)
- Network Q RAC Rally -1 page (121)
Magazines
- Edge Issue 3 - 1 page (101)
- GamesMaster Issue 11 - 1 page (107)
- PC Format Issue 26 - 1 page (117)
Other
- Orchid Soundwave 32 - 1 page (7)
- Advanced Gravis - 1 page (51)
- Action Replay - 2 pages (88-89)
- T2: The Screensaver - 1 page (104)
Other Credits[]
Deputy Editor
Production Editor
Staff Writer
American Editor
Art Editor
Designer
Contributing Editors
- Stuart Campbell, Jonathan Davies, Stuart Dinsey, Mark Gallear, Tim Norris, Rich Pelley, Mark Ramshaw, Tim Smith, Phil South, Paul Stephens, Simon Williams, Cam Winstanley
Contributor
Issue Index[]
Date | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Xmas |
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1993 | 1 |
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1994 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
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1995 | 14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
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1996 | 26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
1997 | 39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
51 |
1998 | 52 |
53 |
54 |
55 |
56 |
57 |
58 |
59 |
60 |
61 |
62 |
63 |
64 |
1999 | 65 |
66 |
67 |
68 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
72 |
73 |
74 |
75 |
76 |
77 |
2000 | 78 |
79 |
80 |
81 |
82 |
83 |
84 |
85 |
86 |
87/88 |
89 |
90 |
91 |
2001 | 92 |
93 |
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2002 | Cover missing 105 |
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2003 | 118 |
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2004 | 131 |
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2005 | Cover missing 144 |
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2006 | Cover missing 157 |
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2007 | 170 |
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2008 | 183 |
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2009 | 196 |
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2010 | 209 |
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2011 | 222 |
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2012 | 235 |
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2013 | 248 |
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2014 | 261 |
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2015 | 274 |
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2016 | 287 |
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2017 | 300 |
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2018 | 313 |
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2019 | 326 |
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