Overview

Full Name: 3DO Magazine Issue 1
Issue 1
Date Winter 1994
Region: EU
Barcode: 9771355962022 01
Cover Disc Yes
Notes: The disc attached is a rebranded 3DO Interactive Sampler 1

Cover Disc

Game	Developer	Publisher	Content Type
Dragon's Lair	ReadySoft	ReadySoft	Playable Demo
Gridders	Tetragon	The 3DO Company	Playable Demo
Horde, The	Toys For Bob	Crystal Dynamics	Playable Demo
Out of this World	Interplay Productions	Interplay Productions	Playable Demo
Sewer Shark	Digital Pictures	Hasbro	Playable Demo
Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge	Dynamix	Dynamix	Playable Demo
Storage Manager	The 3DO Company	The 3DO Company	Storage Tool
T&E Soft Presents: Pebble Beach Golf Links	T&E Soft	Panasonic	Playable Demo
Total Eclipse	Crystal Dynamics	Crystal Dynamics	Playable Demo
Way of the Warrior	Naughty Dog	Universal Interactive Studios	Playable Demo

Regulars

Contents - 1 page (5)

Subscribe - 1 page (27)

Competition: Win a 3DO & World Cup Golf - 1 page (63)

Coming Soon - Stuart Wynne - 2 pages (65-66)

The world of 3DO software just keeps expanding. Below is a list of the titles already announced, but there's many more in development across the world, including several EA titles already in production for the M2 upgrade.

News

Page 6

3DO Strikes Gold: Goldstar producing their own 3DO system to rival Panasonic's
Pearson Go For Blood: SSI and Atreid Concept join Mindscape under Pearson Group umbrella
Century FIFA: FIFA becomes 3DO's 100th game.
Wyllie Promotions: Special club for 3DO owners from Fodor-Wyllie
Demolition Job: Demolition Man from Virgin

Page 7

Whole New World: Editorial
The Art of Doom: Doom and Doom 2 to be converted by Art Data Interactive
Hell is 3DO: Hell featuring Dennis Hopper from Gametek/Take Two

Features

PC 3DO? - 1 page (8)

3DO's ambitions for creating a world standard for interactive entertainment are perfectly encapsulated by the 3DO Blaster card. According to Creative Labs, it's the future of PC gaming. By Stuart Wynne Interview: Trip Hawkins: Interactive Messiah? - 1 page (11)

Since stepping down from heading EA in December 1990, 3DO CEO Trip Hawkins has been working to produce not just the first 'superconsole', but also establishing a worldwide standard for interactive hardware. Stuart Wynne asked him about progress so far. Interview: R J Mical: Architect of the Future - 1 page (12)

RJ Mical is one of the most influential men in videogaming history. Working with David Needle, he's designed a revolutionary computer, handheld and most recently, the 3DO system itself. Currently he's hard at work engineering 3DO's next step. Interview: Richard Marmoy: Getting REAL in the UK - 1 page (13)

For the past year, Richard Marmoy has been masterminding the UK campaign to get a 3DO into your home. Panasonic's REAL branded 3DO system, the FZ-1, has a predominant role in the UK market likely to last well into 1995. Stuart Wynne asked him about his plans for the future. Inside 3DO - 3 pages (14-16)

The 3DO system isn't simply another games console, it's an ambitious attempt to define a worldwide standard for interactive technology backed by some of the world's biggest corporations. We review its history, the inside story on its technology and look ahead to the coming peripherals. By Stuart Wynne Return of the Jedi with Wing Commander III - 3 pages (17-19)

The Wing Commander series has become one of the biggest money-spinners in gaming history. Marrying classic 3D space combat to a space opera storyline, it's a Star Wars-inspired videogame now grown so big it can hire Luke Skywalker to play its leading role. By Stuart Wynne Crystal Dynamics: Gamers Extraordinaire - 2 pages (22-23)

Most new companies start slowly and cautiously. Crystal Dynamics is different. 'Without Crystal Dynamics, 3DO is just an expensive toy' is the tagline on their ads, a typically self-confident claim by a company which regards its employees as the 'best and the brightest'. To find out the truth behind the hype, Stuart Wynne spoke to International VP Rob Dyer and Chief Scientist Dr David Kirk Even Better Than The Real Thing? - 2 pages (24-25)

After its star turn in Schwarzenegger's True Lies, the Harrier jumpjet is about to make its first appearance on the 3DO system. Deep in development in San Mateo, California, Flying Nightmares is set to be one of the best flight sims on any machine, let alone a console. Stuart Wynne talked to Domark VP John Kavanagh about it.

Reviews

3DO Magazine Ratings: ***** - Highly Recommended, **** - Generally Excellent, *** - Very Good, ** - Average, * - Poor

Game Title	Publisher	Reviewer	Pages	Pg No(s)	Rating
Need for Speed, The	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	2	30-31	*****
Theme Park	Electronic Arts	Dino Boni	1	32	*****
Samurai Shodown	Crystal Dynamics	Stuart Wynne	1	33	*****
Rise of the Robots	Art Data Interactive	Stuart Wynne	1	34	****
Way of the Warrior	Interplay	Ryan Butt	1	35	***
FIFA International Soccer	Electronic Arts	Mark Wynne	1	36	*****
John Madden Football	Electronic Arts	Mark Wynne	1	37	*****
Super Street Fighter II X	Panasonic	Ryan Butt	1	39	*****
Alone in the Dark	Infogrames	Mark Wynne	1	40	****
World Cup Golf	US Gold	Mark Wynne	1	41	****
Off-World Interceptor	Crystal Dynamics	Mark Wynne	1	42	*****
Road Rash	Electronic Arts	Mark Wynne	1	43	*****
Shock Wave	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	1	44	***
Super Wing Commander	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	1	45	****
Horde, The	Crystal Dynamics	Stuart Wynne	1	46	*****
Slayer	Mindscape	Stuart Wynne	1	47	****
Another World	Interplay	Stuart Wynne	0.5	48	***
Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, The	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	0.5	48	**
Powers Kingdom	Panasonic	Stuart Wynne	0.5	49	***
Star Control II	Crystal Dynamics	Stuart Wynne	0.5	49	****
Waialae Country Club	Panasonic	Mark Wynne	0.5	50	****
Escape from Monster Manor	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	0.5	50	***
Mega Race	Mindscape	Stuart Wynne	0.5	51	***
Total Eclipse	Crystal Dynamics	Stuart Wynne	0.5	51	****
Burning Soldier	Panasonic	Stuart Wynne	0.5	52	**
Dragon's Lair	Elite	Stuart Wynne	0.5	52	**
Sewer Shark	Virgin	Mark Wynne	0.5	53	**
Night Trap	Virgin	Mark Wynne	0.5	53	*
Pataank	Crystal Dynamics	Mark Wynne	0.5	56	****
Real Pinball	Panasonic	Mark Wynne	0.5	56	*
Gridders	The 3DO Company	Stuart Wynne	0.5	59	***
Battle Chess	Interplay	Stuart Wynne	0.5	59	**
Twisted	Electronic Arts	Stuart Wynne	0.5	61	***
Soccer Kid	Krisalis	Stuart Wynne	0.5	61	***

The Need for Speed

Without doubt, Need For Speed is going to sell zillions of 3DO systems. It's a game which, even when you've beaten every car on every course, you'll come back to simply to relax, just like cruising a real car down the highway. Given its amazing addictivity, even three huge, multi-stage courses aren't enough, but data disks and a full blown sequel are quite inevitable. In the meantime anyone who's got any interest at all in real cars simply can't miss this one.

Theme Park

Overall, Theme Park is a game suitable for players of all ages. The lower difficulty levels can get quite boring after a prolonged period of play, but they are ideal as training grounds for the full game. Constantly improving your park and keeping its customers happy is an addictive formula but this can wear off in time unless you get more involved with the business side of the game. Brain dead arcade fans should be warned the business really can be quite complex, but most people will find building their own Theme Park as compulsive as visiting anyone else's!

Samurai Shodown

Crystal's one innovation is a welcome save game option, making for a generally superb 3DO experience. If you are fed up with the likes of the SFII series, and want something that looks and plays completely different, then this is well worth considering..

Rise of the Robots

Overall, this is a very Hollywood-style production which wipes the floor with any of its competiton in the presentation stakes. Strip out the graphics and you'd have a rather unexceptional game, but with them you've got a ground-breaking hype monster. If the idea appeals, the 3DO version is faster, slicker and more playable than any other version of this highly acclaimed mega-game and well worth buying.

Way of the Warrior

In terms of presentation, Warrior is certainly a better showcase of the 3DO system than SFIIX; besides smooth screen scaling to keep the characters always in view, there's some absolutely stunning guardian monsters (which a cheat lets you control). Newcomers to beat-'em-ups will probably have great fun with it initially, but for true beat-'em-up fans Warrior is essentially a weak MKII clone with no guts or personality of its own.

FIFA International Soccer

Rage's faster-running Striker is still in with a chance for the cup, but in the meantime FIFA gives the 3DO system another genre classic which is essential for any footie fan. Moreover, if you've got five pals and (more problematically) five joypads then the six-player game is pretty much unmissable as well.

John Madden Football

Despite stiff competition, this remains the most impressive game I've ever seen, on anything anywhere. Whilst single player games don't offer quite as much excitement as the extraordinary two-player matches, this is still an unmissable piece of software.

Super Street Fighter II X

Years of constant development has not only retained that incredible playability, but added an incredible number of moves per character - the possibilities for combination move attacks are almost endless. If you're serious about beat-'em-ups, or just want to see what the best is like, then SSFIIX is pretty much unmissable.

Alone in the Dark

So despite being a drearily unimaginative conversion, the strength of the original game makes it still well worth a look. While PC owners will see no reason to trouble themselves with it, others will find much to delight (and terrify) themselves with here particularly as the official, PAL release will be full screen. Now if Infogrames cut to the chase with a souped up Alone In The Dark III, everyone will really have something to look forward to.

World Cup Golf

Overall it's the fine detail, the incredible variety of options, that will get golf fans queuing up for World Cup Golf. There's no less than 72 national teams to compete against, equipped with some very tough, smart computer-controlled players. Non-fans might be less forgiving of the sluggishness when you hit the ball, but golf is never going to appeal to arcade fans and with PGA Golf still some way off this is bound to do well.

Off-World Interceptor

Overall Off-World Interceptor is a classic arcade game, with simple objectives, seductive visuals and sonics (the music is up to Crystal Dynamics usual high standards) and gameplay that is simply joyful. Inconceivable on any other machine, this is outstanding stuff, and with a brilliant two-player game, quite unmissable.

Road Rash

Overall, this is pretty much your definitive EA game: arcade-style instant addiction married to home computer style depth and long-term challenge.

Shock Wave

As you might expect of a development team called New Technologies Group, Shock Wave is ultimately more interesting for its slick coding than its unremarkable gameplay. If you want a blast, it's challenging enough. If you want more, then the planned data disk better have some major improvements.

Super Wing Commander

The gameplay of Wing Commander helps see off superficially flashier games such as Shock Wave. With Wing Commander III already rushing toward completion, sci-fi fans shouldn't miss catching up on the storyline with episode one!

The Horde

Overall, The Horde is a near-perfect blend of arcade action and compulsive strategy. There's probably not enough levels and there is some slowdown on the arcade sections, but it's certainly kept me playing for days (and nights) on end. Heartily recommended!

Slayer

Avid D&Ders will delight at the amount of game in the package and neutrals will be pleasantly surprised by its accessibility. Recommended.

Another World

This conversion, despite being handled by Americans, is very faithful to the original. Rather than slapping on some garish new sprites, Interplay have kept to the original look but recoloured it with a rich 256 colour palette. It obviously doesn't push the 3DO system in the way Gex does, but such a stylish conversion of a 16bit classic is still more than welcome on the new generation.

The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes

The story also appears to be quite intriguing, despite the dubious Ripper opening, and Holmes is of course a truly great character. While more advanced adventures linger in development, the Holmes war-horse provides a still serviceable challenge in the meantime.

Powers Kingdom

All this is great fun, but ultimately there's something a bit too methodical about it. The ability to save at any time removes a lot of the challenge and the game doesn't change all that much, apart from new tactics for new monsters. Nevertheless, it's very addictive, very unusual and well worth a look.

Star Control II

Sure, the entire game engine should've been reworked for the 3DO multiplayer but that would take years and in the meantime 3DO system owners have a very slick, classic game to while away a great many late nights.

Waialae Country Club

Whilst the slick visuals would probably entice more novices than World Cup, this is no bad thing. The World Cup title does offer a more sophisticated and challenging game, but this looks much more fun and plays very well indeed, with slightly faster disc accessing making play immediately more accessible. Despite both games' merits, however, the killer golfing game is still to come, and probably from Electronic Arts.

Escape from Monster Manor

The game as a whole is very much an atmosphere piece. If the idea of wandering around a haunted house appeals, there's plenty enough challenge on offer and later levels offers some spooky surprises. It moves fast enough (perhaps too fast), there's plenty to shoot and plenty of neat effects but gameplay is itself a rather ghostly factor in this unremarkable gothic zap-'em-up.

Mega Race

The graphics which cause bystanders' jaws to drop matter little when you're actually playing, tightly focused on a fast-moving but ultimately simplistic and repetitive game. There's plenty of power-ups and the overall plot all helps make it very worthwhile, indeed if you want to amaze neighbours or simply give the old peepers a treat, MegaRace is undoubtedly a gorgeous confection. Just don't expect the gameplay to match the superb audio-visuals.

Total Eclipse

There's a wide range of power-up weapons and at the end of each planet there's your regulation, humongous mega-guardian. These can take ages to kill, but this is a relatively small price to pay for one of the smoothest, slickest shoot-'em-ups yet seen, inside or outside an arcade. It's what your 3DO system was made for.

Burning Soldier

Competing for high scores is fairly good fun in the simultaneous two-player mode, but overall this oddity's main appeal is probably to Manga fans.

Dragon's Lair

Some people would argue whether it's really a game at all, but on the other hand there are quite a few diehard fanatics who love the graphics and find honing their reactions for maximum high scores irresistible. For these people, at least, this slick conversion (with infinite continues for beginners) will be a welcome chance to rescue Princess Daphne one last time.

Sewer Shark

The storyline is also overly simplistic with the main plot twist revealed far too early and easily. Shock Wave easily overshadows it in this, as well as gameplay and technological flair.

Night Trap

This is a rather sad example of just how uninteractive 'interactive' movies can be and is an unfortunate distraction from more imaginative visions of future gaming such as Demolition Man.

Pataank

And whilst the tables present are brilliantly designed, there isn't really enough to satisfy for long, the small size of the game adding to the feeling that PaTaank is more of an experiment than a fully fledged game in its own right. Nevertheless, it's an excellent showcase for both the technical ability of the 3DO system and the superb visual artists at P.F. Magic. Expect cult success.

Real Pinball

The potential for a truly spectacular pinball game on the 3DO system is vast, but this doesn't come close and is easily eclipsed even by Kirby's Pinball on the GameBoy.

Gridders

Overall, despite all it's efforts I'm afraid this is another puzzler unlikely to break out of its ghetto making for that classic puzzler finishing line: it's okay and if you like this sort of thing, you'll probably like this.

Battle Chess

Battle Chess is competent and entertaining but far from an inspired conversion.

Twisted

Played solo, Twisted is a real mindbender and plenty of fun, but it only really comes into its own with plenty of people crowded around, jostling for position and mocking/applauding each other's efforts. Without them the various challenges can get a bit repetitive, while the various trivia questions are unduly irksome due to their American bias. Nevertheless this is an intriguing game and a great party piece.

Soccer Kid

As you progress the levels do get markedly more imaginative and challenging, but this isn't the game to wow your mates with. What it is is a remarkably playable and enjoyable platformer.

Adverts

Games

Road Rash, The Need for Speed, FIFA International Soccer - Electronic Arts - 2 pages (2-3)
Station Invasion - The 3DO Company - 1 page (4)
Virtuoso - Elite - 1 page (9)
Soccer Kid - Krisalis - 1 page (10)
3DO: No Limits - 2 pages (20-21)
Gridders - The 3DO Company - 1 page (26)
Total Eclipse, The Horde, Off-World Interceptor, Star Control II, PaTaank - Crystal Dynamics - 1 page (68)

Magazines

PC Power Issue 12 - 1 page (28)

Credits

Designer

Mark Wynne

Writers

Stuart Wynne, Mark Wynne

Contributors

Ryan Butt, Dino Boni

Publisher

Richard Monteiro

3DO Magazine Issue 1