Zzap! Editorials 1993
Zzap! Editorials 1993
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES Hello Force Fiends, and welcome to Issue One of COMMODORE FORCE Magazine. As you'll have no doubt gathered, we're commited to bringing you the very latest and greatest in C64 news and reviews, as well as providing not some of, but THE hottest gaming action on our monthly Reel Action cover cassettes. As well as full, in-depth reviews of all the latest full-priced AND budget C64 games, we're determined to back the C64 to the hilt in these troubled times. Like some creeping menace from a 1950s 'B' movie, the consoles are slowly but surely taking over from home computers - and we're not about to stand back and allow this to happen without a fight! With console cartridges costing anywhere up to £60 a pop, either the current recession is a myth (ho, ho), or there are legions of spoiled brats with money to burn (and parents prepared to help them with the matches). Compare, say, the cost and playability of a game like Kixx's Swiv (see p. 55), and any other console cart you'd care to mention. Okay, so you have to wait a while for the tape to load, but graphically the quality is on par with any 8-bit console release. So, for saving £30+, a few minutes thumb-twiddling while the border flashes is a small price to pay. Long live the 64! Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? Which games are the COMMODORE FORCE crew playing this month, and why...? STEVE SHIELDS PHIL KING IAN OSBORNE JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD [follows text about new reviewer from 'News!' section] WHO'S THAT MISERABLE-LOOKING GEEZER, THEN? Steve and Phil were cleaning out the basement, moving the (dead) bodies of failed reviewers (and you thought they went on to work for other magazines!) when a croak issued from a particularly smelly pile of would-have-been-staff-writers. 'Help' said the disembodied voice. 'Fhhhrrrttt!' said Phil and Steve. After regaining their wits (if not their dignity), they pushed the pile over and before them lay... Chris Hayward! It turned out he'd only popped into the offices to use the phone to tell his mum he didn't want peas with his dinner that night, but Carol, our evil, maniacal receptionist had (mistakenly) beaten him around the head and dumped his limp bod in the Europress Morgue. Phil cried openly at this tragic story, but Steeve laughed more than he'd done after putting rabbit poo in Ian Osborne's sandwiches. Eventually, everyone came to the conclusion that Chris is a very nice guy, coming from Shrewsbury (just like Mr Shields). Luckily, he'd seen the funny side (as had Steve) and so was invited to join the COMMODORE FORCE editorial crew... send fan main to the usual address. |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES Hey ho, another day another dollar - or, in my case, another mortgage repayment! So what's hot and happenin' in the wild world of Commodore this Winter? Well, not a lot frankly. The software houses are busy gearing-up for the Christmas shopping binge (which'll have been and gone by the time you read this), while the programmers themselves seem to have gone into virtual hibernation (no discernable difference in some of them). Guts have been busted and copious amounts of coffee drunk in order to get the BIG Xmas releases into the shops in time, so most of the guys and gals involved in actually writing the games are taking a well-earned rest. Our friends in Holland are still hard at it, however, feverishly beavering away in an attempt to get Lemmings coded for Chrimble. Writing a piece of software such as Lemmings is a mind-bogglingly big task, so whether Alter Developments complete the conversion in time still hangs very much in the balance. Ah well, they're doing their best... Out here in Magazine Land though, there's little chance of a holiday of any description (well earned or not). The entire team have worked their little fingers to the bone in an effort to meet our Christmas Eve on-sale date (although what they've been doing with their other four digits is anyones guess!). Let's hope we make it, eh? I for one don't fancy a P45 sticking out of my Christmas stocking! Have a cool yule, Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? Which games kept the COMMODORE FORCE crew up 'till three in the morning this month? STEVE SHIELDS IAN OSBORNE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY [follows text about new reviewer from 'News!' section] YETI JOINS THE COMMODORE FORCE CREW Ever wondered why no-one's heard anything of the Yeti in recent years? Did it die? Maybe it was just a myth, or perhaps he had a haircut and now walks down the street without being recognised? COMMODORE FORCE can exclusively reveal that NONE of these theories has even a grain of truth - the Yeti is, in fact, alive and well and living in Bridgnorth! Due to monumental climactic changes in his native Himalayan mountains (he had a bad curry), the Yeti was forced to move on to pastures new. He intended going to the North Pole, but his hair fell in front of his eyes and he lost his way - all he could do was follow his nose and head for the coldest place he could find, so he ended up in Shropshire. Having based himself in a cave in darkest Bridgnorth, the Yeti decided to explore his surroundings. All weirdoes going anywhere near Ludlow eventually end up working for COMMODORE FORCE, so it was inevitable he'd join the crew - welcome aboard hairy one, or to use the English name he invented for tax purposes, MILES GUTTERY (you'd think he'd come up with a better one than that, wouldn't you?). |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES I'm as mad as a monstrously mental March Hare this month, readers. Spring has sprung, the sun is shining, my goatie beard has made a belated (bleated?) come-back and the C64 scene is, well, if not as buoyant as ever, then certainly still thriving! Commodore finally bundled the curvaceous C64 with a disk drive just before Xmas, and put it on sale for the very reasonable price of just £150 (while stocks last...). Praise be! For now our little 8-bit buddy is finally set to give the 8-bit consoles a real run for their money. I wonder just how many C64 packs did sell last Christmas? On the software front things are looking up, too. We're still waiting for a finished version of Lemmings to arrive, but our friends at Alter Developments in Holland assure it won't be much longer. Here's hoping! Meanwhile, life goes on in the Commodore Force office. Ian's hyperventilating at the prospect of his girlfriend moving in with him (she must be madder than me!), Chris is as chuffed as a very chuffed person indeed to be receiving more tips per week than Corky did in the whole time he was here, and Miles... what can I say? He's still as nutty as a squirrels doings only his hair's a bit cleaner. In fact, he's lumbering around looking like an extra from a Silvikrin advert! Ah well, on with the issue. I think I'll retire to my little rubber room for a while now and leave the rest of the team to it. It's nice and quiet in there, and there's no danger of those nasty purple fribble querts popping up up and awaaay, in my beautiful brass aquarium... (normal service will be resumed as soon as the Sunny Daze Sanitorium deem it wise!) Best wishes, Steve WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? Which games did the Commodore Force team use as excuses for missing their deadlines this month? STEVE SHIELDS IAN OSBORNE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES It's been one of those months this month, readers. First we had to mournfully come to terms with the fact that US Gold's C64 conversion of Street Fighter 2 wasn't going to live up to expectations (not that it sucks a biggie, it's just a birrova let-down after all the hype), then we spent day after day awaiting review copies of... anything! The gloomy atmosphere lifted with the arrival of Pipe Mania, thank Gawd, an excellent game that's really managed to engross every member of the team. Other highlights this month include an hilarious argument which has developed between Chris and Miles - they've been at each other's throats like rabid grannies since Miles took it upon himself to 'help out' with Chris' Tips column. Treading on toes like that is a risky business, but at least it ensures the rest of the office are guarantied some side-splitting put-downs and tantrums! Other news of the up-beat variety concerns our Dutch friends Alter Developments (yes, the Lemmings dudes). Having impressed the entire industry with their classy C64 routines, they now look set to tackle the conversions of some well wicked games. We've done a little piece about it which you'll find here in the 'What's Happening' section... Until next issue, then, I'll say goodbye, farewell and may the COMMODORE FORCE be with you! Steve Shields - Managing Editor WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? WHAT'S GIVEN US NUMB THUMBS THIS MONTH? STEVE SHIELDS IAN OSBORNE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES The sun is out, the sky is blue, and here's our May issue, just for you! Oh, the joys of spring. The Ozric Tentacles are warbling away merrily on my cassette player. the C-Forcers are beavering away like the busy bees they are, and I've just been blasting away on two of the most excellent reader games I've seen to date. It's too late in the day to get either of them on the Reel Action cassettes for this ish - they only came in this morning - but watch out next month 'coz we'll be bunging the blighters on then. Someday, all SEUCK games will be made this way... Meanwhile, not all is quiet in the wide world of Commodore. Traditionally, this is the period when things start winding down for the summer when, it's reckoned, gamesters take to the beach or back garden to sun themselves and shun their C64s. Games are arriving almost every day, though, and tantalising news of forthcoming releases reaches over ears on a regular basis. To be honest, the continued success of the Commodore 64 has taken a lot of industry luminaries totally by surprise. With all the hype and hubbub surrounding the consoles, many software developers got suckered into believing the trusty old 64 was on its last legs and not worth producing games for. Ha! Our growing circulation (it's almost doubled since Issue #1!), coupled with a postbag bulging with new devotees to the 64 scene, is testimony to the truth. May The Commodore Force Be With You. Always! Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? BUTTON-TAPPING BANTER BY THE CREW. STEVE SHIELDS IAN OSBORNE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES Almost alarmingly good news abounds round seemingly every corner this month, kicking off with the introduction (well, reintroduction in one case) of new stuff. Welcome back aboard, James, and congratulations on the promotion - and hello to our new Editorial Assistant chap, too (I'll remember his name in a minute!). A bigger team doesn't for a minute mean that the old adage of too many chiefs and not enough cooks spoiling the moss-covered spilt milk after the horse has bolted (or something) is true. No, not on your nellie! What it does mean, though, is that we'll have more time between us to bring you a fresher, more accurate mag; tips can be significantly more in-depth and generated here at the office (instead of having to rely on you lot the whole time, although your tips and solutions are always welcome); screenshots can be lined up and executed far more effectively; I don't have to go to the coffee machine every time I develop a thirst; etc... Secondly, we've moved. Not to another building, I must stress, merely down two floors into the very bowels of the building (yeuch!). Seriously though, this IS good news - more space, better working conditions and, most importantly of all, the chance to tidy up in earnest! The good news for YOU is that, while shifting all the desks/filling cabinets/dead staff writers etc a number of previously undiscovered items came to light: Phil's old lunch box wasn't the only thing to be unearthed, I can tell you! Ten brand-new never-been-opened Logic 3 joysticks were stuffed into a box behind Claire's desk; A mountain of C64 dust-covers came to light, as well as a whole bunch of other odds 'n' ends - and you lucky people are going to get the lot! Yes, occasional prizes will be awarded to the senders of particularly interesting (or rib-tickling!) missives... all at Lloyd Mangram's discretion, of course! Add to that the eventual release of two top quality C64 releases (we were beginning to think that Nobby The Aardvark and First Samurai were never going to make an appearance!). Yes, it's good news all round this month alright! The Force IS with you... Always! Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? Which games are the COMMODORE FORCE crew playing? STEVE SHIELDS JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY IAN OSBORNE |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES Welcome to the latest issue of the unstoppable COMMODORE FORCE. By now you will have gathered that a sudden price-hike has been thrust upon you, and I'd like to take this opportunity to explain why, exactly, you're being asked to pay (a hardly wallet-busting) four pence more per issue. It's simple really: free games! Although we've always had the policy of providing our readers with the very best cover-games available each issue, you will no doubt understand that the rights enabling us to feature games belonging to other companies on our Reel Acton tapes costs us. A lot. Fortunately, though, we have just so many dedicated readers that a meagre four-pence-a-month each from you lot - an insubstantial sum individually - adds up to a tidy amount in total. Now, we could cynically cream off this extra revenue and claim it as profit, but the whole reasoning behind the increase was to enable us to pay more money... for substantially better games. Take this month, for example. We're so confident that enough readers will jump for joy at the prospect of owning three of the very best C64 games ever produced, that we've forked-out for 'em in advance. Still, if you're unhappy about it here's your chance to make your feelings known. All you need do is write to Lloyd Mangram and tell him, in 50 words or less, what you would've done with the 4p we've ruthlessly ripped-off you this issue. The best three (as judged by Lloyd) will receive a FREE years subscription to the mag - and if you're already a subscriber then you'll automatically be awarded a year's extension at no extra cost. In addition, disk users will be pleased to discover that all Real Action games are still available on disk (see the Real Action pages for details), and the price is to remain at just £1.49. Now is that a bargain or what? Next month's games are hardly going to be a let-down, either, with a couple of 90 percenters already lined up for inclusion... you'd not only have to be mad to miss it, you'd also have to be pretty sad to boot! May The Force Be With You, Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? THE GANG & THEIR GAMES STEVE SHIELDS JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY IAN OSBORNE |
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HERE ARE THE ED LINES I don't know, I turn my back for just five minutes... Having been whisked away to our special 'Top Secret Projects' department for most of the month, I left the general running of the mag to my trusted deputy, James. We'd already discussed what was to go into the issue, all that was left for Big Jim to do was put it together! The next thing I know, on emerging from the secure unit of Impact Towers, is that I've got a minor rebellion on my hands. The Tipster, usually such a mild-mannered individual, has been tearing about the place sporting an assortment of sharp objects and a face like thunder, while our man of letters Mr Mangram is refusing to come out of his post room! He's tricky enough to comprehend at the best of times, what with that bag on his head and all, but barricaded into a six by eight-foot windowless cubby hole it was simply impossible to understand his demands, let alone comply with any of 'em. What the hoola-hoop is going on, then? Well, quite simple this: pages. James wanted to 'cram as much into this ish as possible', it seems, and to do so it became necessary to lop a couple of pages from various sections of the mag. As a result, The Tipster found himself with more tips than he could use, and a dew of Lloyd's letters wound up on the cutting room floor... Ah, well, ego's have now been massaged and tempers tamed, so it'll be business as usual again next month (I hope). Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the issue - and the cover cassettes! Judging by the sales figures for the last issue, our policy of bringing you the very best free games is really paying off... May The Force Be With You, Steve Shields WHO'S PLAYING WHAT? GAMES ARE BEING PLAYED... BUT BY WHOM? STEVE SHIELDS JAMES PRICE IAN OSBORNE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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So, you liked the last issue, huh? And the one before that too, judging by our sales figures. Neat! And they said it was a dying market... It's true, folks - when we launched COMMODORE FORCE onto an unsuspecting public, industry moguls the length and breadth of Britain were heard sniggering into their coffee cups. Ha! It's rewarding to watch those same know-it-all pessimists tucking into double helpings of humble pie as this magnificent monthly goes from strength-to-strength. It was felt, for example, that just because some of the major retail chains are curtailing their stocking policies regarding the C64, that owners of the awesome 8-bit micro would hang up their datasettes and retire. Not so! We knew all along that home computer enthusiasts weren't quite as fickle as many imagined - indeed, Lloyd Mangram's still receiving letters from ex-console owners who've traded in their carts for a cart-load of cassettes. Our policy is simple: if Boots, Woolies, Menzies and Smiths are stocking fewer and fewer decent C64 games, we'll just have to work that little harder in getting the games on your behalf. If you can't buy the suckers, we'll give 'em to you! This simple strategy is already paying big dividends. Over the past three issues we've given our readers classic games with a combined overall percentage of, and get this, 350%! The amount of cash you'd have had to pay to buy these games would also be worth calculating, but the time I'd spend totting up that particular set of figures would be better spent in attempting to secure better games! You've got Jimmy James to thank for this issue's Reel Action smashes - The Blue Brothers, eh? What a scoop! He's been getting more and more involved with securing the rights to our cover cassettes of late, and judging from what I've seen so far the lad's got a real (action) feel for it. So, if you 've been at your wits end trying to get your mitts on a particular piece of C64 software, why not drop James a line at the usual address and he'll see what he can do. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the issue. In fact, I hope you find time to read the beggar in between playing your latest batch of Reel Action classics! May The COMMODORE FORCE Be With You! Steve Shields WHO'S DOING WHAT? THE GANG AND THEIR GOINGS ON... STEVE SHIELDS JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY IAN OSBORNE |
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After many glorious issues, ZZAP! 64 - in both its own and incorporated guises - has done the ton. Few magazines, especially computer-related ones, have managed this feat and we're all so proud to be part of it. Perhaps the best part of this centenary is that it's by no means the end - who knows, maybe we'll get a second letter from the queen! This one seems to have been lost in the post; maybe it'll arrive tomorrow... You'll also notice the absence of two familiar figures from this issue. Both Steve Shields (our mad, bad Managing Editor) and Ian Osborne have left the magazine to work on other projects. We're sorry to see them go - well, Steve anyway - and wish them the best of luck on SEGA FORCE MEGA/SEGA MASTER FORCE and AMIGA FORCE respectively. Which brings us, quite neatly, to the fact that there's someone else at the helm for a change. Those expecting a nosedive in quality as a direct result of this are in for a big shock - COMMODORE FORCE will only get better. Take this issue for example; tapes containing 96% and 95%-rated games (and more), an extensive Work In Progress section, pull-out ZZAP! edition... there's so much to crow about it's a shame this column isn't big enough to accommodate it all! Write to us; tell us what you think. I know it sounds contrived, but it is your magazine too - if you're spending hard-earned money (or otherwise) on each issue, you'll want to see things that interest you. The survey included on p59 this issue is a good way to make your feelings known, but hey - we're always here, so drop us a line: even if it's just for a letter-based chat. Best Wishes James Price WHO'S DOING WHAT? THE TEAM AND THEIR TRICKS JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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Another issue, another monster helping of top-notch C64 action. In possibly our most game-packed issue to date, we've got the final installment of our exclusive Lemmings diary, our all-time top 100 games, seven pages of tips... the list goes on. Of course, Alien 3, Lemmings and Mayhem in Monsterland haven't arrived for full review yet, but we've been promised they'll get here next month. Which perhaps is a problem in itself - all three are set to be true C64 classics, so which one gets Rave Review? It never rains, but it pours... So, what do the coming months have in store for the C64? Not much, we're afraid. What's set to arrive looks to be of the highest quality, but there's not much of it, is there? A few budget re-releases, roughly five original full-pricers... it's a sorry situation for the biggest-selling home computer ever to be in. So why not write to your favourite software houses? If it was made clear that the C64 is very much alive and kicking, its users eager for software, then perhaps we'll see a little more arrive. Above all, we here at COMMODORE FORCE know fully well there's a large amount of active C64 owners, simply because our sales figures say so. So, here's looking at you, C64sters. Make your feelings known, and perhaps the future could be a little rosier for Commodore's wonderbox. Rest assured that, no matter what, COMMODORE FORCE will still deliver two game-packed tapes, and many pages of the best in C64 action. May The Force (and software, hopefully) Be With You! James Price Editor WHO'S DOING WHAT? THE CREW AND THEIR CONFLICTS JAMES PRICE CHRIS HAYWARD MILES GUTTERY |
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Well, it's been a strange month. It began on a low note with the departure of Chris Hayward to SNES FORCE, and sank lower towards the end of our schedule when Miles decided it'd be a great idea to crash his car into a stationary vehicle. Obviously, that doesn't really affect you people out there in the real world, but it could have - the entire COMMODORE FORCE editorial team (all two of us) in a car crash... who'd write everything? Anyway, gripe aside, this month's possibly our most feature packed to date and... yes, we've even got a few reviews. Okay, so they're only 'little-known' titles such as Mayhem in Monsterland, Lemmings and Alien 3, but I suppose we'll get by. Back to the Feature's...um, back, and we hope you appreciate the Lemmings poster - if only you knew the rush it was to arrange it... Also, thanks to all those that took the time to fill in and return Issue Ten's survey - the response has been almost overwhelming! As well as acting upon points raised, we'll also be including a Reader's All-Time Top 100 in next month's COMMODORE FORCE. It would appear a few of our choices were a little controversial - but I suppose it's a matter of personal preferences. Rest assured, though, this top 100 will be as near to a perfect indication of the most popular C64 games ever as you'll get. Drive Carefully...! James Price Editor WHO'S DOING WHAT? THE TWOSOME AND THEIR TROUBLES JAMES PRICE MILES GUTTERY |
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Before you read any further, turn to the centre pages. Got that? Intrigued? Yup, our next issue is set to be something special... but you'll have to wait to find out why. But hey - you're hardly short changed this month either, what with our two fast-paced racers and the innovative Driller. We've also got the much-awaited Reader's Top 100 and a bumper eight pages packed with the best tips this side of tipsville... and, of course, all your other favourite regulars. Heard of a machine called the Mega CD? Did you know that the C64 - in terms of software sales - is currently 1.6% ahead of Sega's expensive Megadrive add-on? It's true, you know. Did you also know that the C64 is also ahead - again, in software sales - of the Atari ST, Spectrum, Apple Macintosh and Amstrad, among others? But how long will it be until the C64 really begins to tumble? Who cares! I certainly don't. You see, what I do with C64s is smash them with a mallet, set fire to the pieces and throw them at passers-by. Really I do... (Miles here, just to assure you that James doesn't really do that. The real reason he's irate is because he can't get past the fourth level of Mayhem in Monsterland. I can - just watch. Hmmm, yes, just that little but across there, up a bit here, collect that there and... badgers! Pass me that lighter, James. I'm gonna torch me a C64... useless piece of junk, blither!) May The Force Be With You! James Price WHO'S DOING WHAT? THE TEAM AND THEIR TRICKS JAMES PRICE MILES GUTTERY LLOYD MANGRAM |
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