think the universe could take another master. But the top games this month are good old-fashioned state-ofthe-art stuff - an eminently playable martial-arts challenge from System 3 in IK+, an exciting flight simulator from Firebird in Ftying Shark and a classically textonly adventure from Level 9 in Knight Ore. "mere's an interview with the minds behind Level 9 in the newlook Adventure Trail, too - and we hope you'll write to let us know how you find that section. (Signpost and Signstumps will return next month, when there's space - and Lloyd has something defensive to say about space in the Forum . . . )
HAPPY GNU YEAR LOOKING AHEAD THERE'S something disorienting about January - it's suddenly easy to feel lost without a seasonal prop. Still, by the time you read this it'll be well nigh Valentine's day and the round of gimmickry can resume. The games producers will be accused of gimmickry again this year, as the rush of tie-ins accei6fat8s. Some software houses - most egregiously Gremlin Graphics and Piranha are all but devoting themselves to tie-ins, it seems. And you'd hardly
New to CRASH this month are one game-reviewer and two Staff Writers. Nathan Jones from Church Stretton developed an unhealthy attachment to Mirrorsort's Andy Cappsoon after his arrival at the Towers, but we'll still let him come in every Saturday for re-education sessions. Gordon Houghton joins us as a Staff Writer from Blackburn in Lancashire, via three years at Oxford studying for joint honours in horizontal scrolling and comparative arcade adventures. And Mark Caswell, who's been contributing the odd comment for several months, joins that small but intrepid band that roves from mag to mag.
IN THE NEXT CRASH
THERE'S GOLD THAT THAR MAG It's CRASH'S 50th issue - and to celebrate the golden anniversary there'll be MORE THAN £ 2 , 0 0 0 WORTH OF PRIZES dOd d 16-PAGE TECH NICHE SUPPLEMENT plus... • FANZINE RLE • RUN IT AGAIN • THE CRASH CHALLENGE • ON THE SCREEN • PAGES AND PAGES OF TIPS AND REVIEWS It's all In CRASH Issue SO, on sale Thursday February 25
REVIEWS N e w year, new games
SMASHED! 88
/K+
Three heads are better than two with the latest martial-arts Smash 48
KNIGHT ORC Level 9's most interactive, complex and humourous adventure yet
HOT SHOTS 80% 2 0
and over
FLYING SHARK
Graftgold flies into Firebird with a stunning simulation 9 1
INSIDE
OUTING
Have the time of your life in The Edge's creepy mansion 1 1 SURER
HANG-ON
Hold on tight for the ride of your lifel 9*
TERRAMEX
More monochrome adventures from the skies of Quicksilva
FULL 22 88 91 18 98 97 22 24 86 13 90 26 26 11 28 94 18
/K* ActiviSron Inside Outing The Edge Knightmare Act i vision Masters Of The Universe Gremlin Graphics Out or Thlt World Reaklor Out Run US Gold Pro Golf II Atlantis Psycho Soldier Ocean Rampage Act i vision Salamander Konami Scruple s Virgin Games Street Hassle Melbourne House Super Hang-On Activision Super Stuntman Code Masters Terramex Quicksiiva Tour Oe Force Gremlin Graphics Winter Olympiad Tynesoft
ADVERTISEMENT INDEX
ActMsion 72-73,60-81 Am s trad 36-39 Cambrian 44 Cases Computer Simulations 5 CRASH Hypermarket 82-83 CRASH Mailorder 9 CRASH Subscriptions 106 D4H Games 89 Dynamics Marketing 102 Electronic Arte 68-69 Electronic Services 32 Elite Systems 2-3.79 EAJ 31 53 The Games Machine Qremlln Graphics 33, back cover Hewson 6 Imagine 16-17
INDEX 14 23 99 98 27 19 28 96 86 24 90 12 14 20 87 12 94
C t e w 4 Smart Magic Bytes
Graphics
M Firebird
Qsry Uneketa Super Star Soccer Gremlin
Johnson Sea nitron KJC Games Konta Lerm Martech MicroPro se Mites Gordon Technology
102 76 107 31 10 34 53 15 Ocean 4,21,29,92-83 78 Quantum 32 Romantic Robot 48 Rosswar* 31 Silica Shop 26 Tectrics 65 Video Vault 67, 79 Viking Games 32 Virgin Games 115
7 CRASH February 1988