ANALOG Computing (June 1989)

ANALOG Computing (June 1989)

ANALOG Computing was the longest running and most popular Atari 8-bit magazine in the U.S. In 1989 it was getting close to the end of its days. The June 1989 issue includes:

Features

• The Adventure Game Showdown - How adding pictures to text adventure style games changed adventure gaming.


• Secret Agent: Mission 1 - A type-in text adventure game with a secret agent theme.


• Sector to Printer - A type-in program that creates map print outs of adventure games by extracting map related data stored on disk. This is a demo program tailored for Ultima III.


• Disk Directory Alphabetizer - A type-in program that will reorganize your disk directories to be in alphabetical order.

_{Table of Contents from the June 1989 issue of ANALOG Computing}

Reviews

• Mario Bros. - Mario Bros. was a 1983 arcade game so this was a pretty late conversion fort he Atari 8-bit. But if there was one thing Atari was good at, it was releasing and re-releasing old games.


• Desert Falcon - This Zaxxon-like game was one of the last major Atari releases for 8-bit computers. It was really an Atari XEGS game but would also work on the XL and XE computers.

_{Table of Contents from the June 1989 issue of ANALOG Computing (continued)}

Columns

• Database DELPHI - An introduction to the DELPHI online service, the Atari SIG (Special Interest Group) in particular.


• Boot Camp - A look at the 6502 instruction set and how it addresses memory.


• The End User - Info about user groups and a look at SpartDOS X.

Departments

• Editorial - A sort of intro to the "Adventure Game Showdown" article above. There seems to be a concern that adding graphics to text adventures was a bad thing. Ironically, text adventures (with or without graphics) were already pretty much a dead genre by this time.


• Reader Comment - Letters from readers about reviews, previous type-in programs, internal troubles at Atari and the Atari 850 interface.

_{Back cover of the June 1989 issue of ANALOG Computing}

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Atarian – (September/October 1989)

Atarian – (September/October 1989)




I think most console makers tried their hand at an official magazine to varying degrees of success. Nintendo Power is perhaps the most successful of those. At the other end of the scale is Atarian which only had a handful of issues. Not necessarily because it was a terrible magazine (for the most part) but because Atari just didn't survive long enough as a console maker after the Magazine started. The September/October 1989 issue of Atarian includes: Reviews

• Off the Wall
• Jinks
• Super Huey
• Radar Lock
• Ace of Aces
• Gato
• Airball
• Tank Command
• Touchdown Football
• Glacier Patrol

Playing Strategy

• Dark Chambers
• Xevious
• Rescue on Fractulus
• River Raid

Departments

• Mailbag - Our mailbox overflowith
• Top 30 - Your favorite 10 games for 2600, 7800, and XE
• 10 Years Ago - The great autumn of 1979
• Tips & Tricks - Reader tips for maxing your scores
• Gameslist - Games made by other manufacturers
• Adventures of Atari - The evil Ninja-Endo marshals an army of mutant sea creatures against Beth and Atari.
• Puzzlers - Challenge your mind with these stumpers

Features

• Consumer Electronics Show - Atarian goes to a fantastic trade show
• Previews - Sneak peeks of new games coming out soon

Classics

• Donkey Kong
• Millipede

...and more!

ANALOG Computing (March 1989)

ANALOG was probably the most popular Atari 8-bit magazine in the U.S. and had the longest life among Atari 8-bit magazines. Of course, it only had one serious competitor. The March 1989 issue includes:

Features

• Cartridge Games for Your XEGS - An overview of the cartridge based games available for the Atari XEGS. Basing a game system on Atari XE computers wasn't necessarily a bad idea but most games that Atari released were really just re-releases of old games.

• Pebbles - A type-in puzzle game from ancient Egypt featuring stones and holes.

• Master Memory Map, Part VIII - Part 8 of a massive series on the entire Atari 8-bit memory map.

• Un-Sprites - A type-in program for creating software based sprites along with a couple of demo programs.

• Atari Videodisc System - Using an Atari 8-bit computer as a laserdisc controller.

• DUPing BASIC - A way to automatically enable and disable BASIC when entering and leaving DOS.

• Disk Games for Your XEGS - Though the XEGS was a cartridge based game system, you could still connect a standard Atari floppy disk drive externally and play disk based games that work with Atari 8-bit computers.

• Electra-Ball - A type-in futuristic sports games in which you manipulate deflectors to get the ball to go where you want.

Reviews

• Turboword - The first full-featured 80-column word processor for the Atari 8-bit. It required an 80-column expansion board and monitor which were non-standard for the Atari.

• Quintopus - Basically a port expander for Atari 8-bit computers that allows for more peripherals to be attached.

Columns

• Database DELPHI - Help using the Delphi online service from an Atari user's perspective.

• The End User - A look back at the last four years of the column which included various interviews, new products, etc.

• Game Design Workshop - A continuation of a tutorial on Player/Missile graphics as well as continued work on BASIC Invaders, a Space Invaders clone.

Departments

• Editorial - Some newspaper column gives a half-baked criticism of video games in general. Meanwhile, this issue of ANALOG is dedicated to gaming.

• Reader Comment - One reader writes in about his perception of the lack of support for Atari 8-bit machines.

• 8-Bit News - Covox announces text adventure game Escape From Planet X featuring speech synthesis; Super Database 1-2-3 database and report generator available for Atari 8-bit; Cheat!, a program that allows modifications of 120 games to add unlimited lives, released; SpartaDOS X released; and more.

• M/L Editor - A type-in program designed to assist with entering machine language programs published in ANALOG.

• Basic Editor II - A type-in program designed to assist with entering BASIC programs that are published in ANALOG.

...and more!

Crossbow (2600, 7800, XE)

Crossbow is an arcade game developed by Exidy and released in 1983. In 1987, it was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari XEGS and the Commodore 64. This is probably the first light-gun (or light-crossbow in this case) game that I ever played. My local roller skating rink had one circa 1985.

The above review (really more of a summary or even advertisement) is from the July/August 1989 issue of Atarian. It isn't surprising that Atarian didn't last very long. They were always reviewing or printing other editorial content about years old games as if they were new. In this case we are talking about an arcade game that was released in 1983, ported to various home systems in '87 and Atarian is treating it as if it were a new release in the Summer of '89.

Having said that, even though the game was a bit dated, the home versions were decent enough, particularly if you were using the light-gun on the Atari 7800 and XE versions. I remember the arcade version the best and will never forget the "Don't shoot your friends!" announcement you would get when you accidentally shot those you were escorting... The point of the game was to lead a group of adventurers through various locations, shooting anything that was out to harm them. Those you were defending would walk slowly across the screen depending on your protection. It was non-linear in the sense that you could choose your own path to a limited degree and the difficulty depended on the path you chose. This game can be played with a joystick but for best results, use an Atari 7800 or XE system with a light gun.

Necromancer (Atari XEGS)

Atari really new how to beat a dead horse. Here we have a strategy guide being published in 1989 by an official Atari publication for a game that was released in 1987 that had also previously been released in 1982. Necromancer was originally published for Atari 8-bit computers in 1982 and then the Commodore 64 in 1983. It was re-released for Atari's XEGS in 1987. Given that an XEGS was just an Atari 8-bit computer in game console form factor, the game was exactly the same. Not that there is anything wrong with the game. It is a very good game in fact. It's just that Atari had this tendency to re-release the same games over and over vs. publishing new stuff. Re-releasing old games is great but that isn't what is going to sell systems in the long run and it is why so many more people had an NES vs. an Atari 7800 or an Atari XEGS. By the late 1980s, Atari just wasn't developing enough new quality first party titles and could no longer attract significant third party support.

Necromancer was originally released on disk by Synapse for the Atari 400/800 in 1982. It was ported to the Commodore 64 the following year. Four years later, it was released unchanged on the Atari XEGS in cartridge format. I suppose that by this time the other versions were probably relatively hard to find so if you wanted to buy it, the XEGS was probably your best bet. Of course, by this time the original Atari and Commodore disk versions had probably been pirated to a significant degree.

The game itself is very well regarded. You control a Druid who is battling with a Necromancer. The game takes part in three stages. In the first, you build up an army of trees while defending them from ogres and spiders. In the second, you take your army of trees to destroy the spiders in their lair. In the final stage, you battle the Necromancer himself as he uses fire and his remaining spiders to try to destroy you. The game is fast paced and gets faster in each stage and there is a lot to juggle with controlling the trees and the Druid. The unique and tense atmosphere makes for an addictive game. But maybe they should have published a sequel that included the original game instead of just shoveling the original out again...

Antic: The Atari Resource, January 1987

Antic: The Atari Resource, Volume 5, Number 9, January 1987

Atarian Video Game Magazine, Issue Number 3, September/October 1989

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The September/October 1989 issue of the Atarian Video Game Magazine - http://f510b6d0.tinylinks.co