Whether
you own a Lynx or are tempted to buy one, the following capsule reviews
will bring you up to date on the "state of the Lynx."
The
Lynx Collection
BY CLAYTON WALNUM
Blue Lightning
In Blue Lightning, you take to the skies in a top-secret combat jet
and attempt to complete nine wartime missions. Your objective in Mission
1, Dog Fight, is to cruise the blue, blasting down any enemy that crosses
your sights, while in Mission 2, Bombing Run, you must destroy enemy emplacements
on the ground. Other missions have you maneuver your screaming jet through
tight canyon walls, deliver secret documents to hidden airstrips, and fly
nighttime bombing runs.
The 3D perspective is dazzling, with missiles and jets coming at you
with such realism, you want to duck. It's especially magnificent when you
blast an enemy at the last second and fly through the debris. One thing's
for sure: The Lynx's built-in scaling features are used to the max in Blue
Lightning. Luckily, the gameplay is as good as the graphics, making this
a must-have game for every Lynx owner.
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Blue Lightning
Flight simulator $34.95 A dazzling 3D perspective
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California
Games
In this West Coast-contest collection, you compete in four beachside
sports: BMX Bike Racing, Surfing, Half-Pipe Skateboarding and Foot Bag.
The BMX event, in which you race your bike over hills, cliffs and other obstacles, is the star, with lots of action and stunts. The surfing competition is also a blast, mostly because you can easily perform outrageous tricks like triple spins, cutbacks and "catching air" high above the waves. The foot-bag competition is a pleasant diversion, but how long can you bounce a bean bag without getting fidgety? Half-pipe skateboarding, with its difficult controls, is a frustrating event that'll give you sore thumbs and a sour disposition.
All told, California Games isn't a bad package, especially since it
comes free with the Lynx.
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California Games
Arcade action Included with every Lynx This excellent collection of
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Chip's Challenge
If there's one game that will sell Lynxes, Chip's Challenge is it.
As Chip, you must search over 140 mazes, gathering computer chips as you
go. A multitude of tools, traps, devices and monsters make each puzzle
a visual and intellectual delight. Ice floors slide you out of control.
Fire traps fry you to a frazzle. Force floors drag you screaming to destinations
unknown.
Some of the tools and devices include keys, which open color-coded doors;
dirt blocks, which may be pushed around to make bridges or to set off traps;
water shields, which let you walk over water; teleport squares, which zap
you instantly to another location; and one-way walls, which turn solid
when you walk through them. Chip's Challenge will give you a serious case
of gamer's grin.
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Chip's Challenge
Strategy action $34.95 This challenging action puzzle
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Electrocop
Adventure lovers will drool over Electrocop, which drops you into a
large, 12-level fortress through which you must battle in order to rescue
the president's daughter from the crafty Criminal Brain. Each level contains
one or more doors that lead to other levels - not always in the expected
order. Even expert explorers will need time to find the best path to the
Criminal Brain.
Another game drawn in 3D perspective, Electrocop's outstanding graphics
feature long hallways and rooms packed with robot walkers; python machines
that pop up from the floors; virus robots hopping from tile to tile, leaving
death in their wake; and mines and stingrays floating in the air. To add
to the fun, computer consoles throughout the game offer data files and
programs to desperate detectives in need of help.
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Electrocop
Action adventure $34.95 Outstanding graphics and
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Gates of Zendocon
Gates of Zendocon is the obligatory, horizontally-scrolling, outer-space
shoot-em-up. A game with limited depth, play consists of cruising each
of the over 50 universes, searching for exits and blasting anything that
moves. To assist in the destruction, four friendly alien weapons - flying
eyeball, death arising, cosmic destroyer and sonic dart - will, when you
find them, automatically attach to your ship, and boost your firepower.
Although Gates of Zendocon makes little use of Lynx's scaling abilities,
this blastathon is populated with more varieties of cosmic crawlies than
can be described here. In addition, a variety of obstacles, such as falling
crystals and floating space junk, will keep galactic gun jockeys busy Ofl
the control pad. Gates of Zendocon is recommended for shoot-em-up fans
only.
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Gates of Zendocon
Shoot-em-up $34.95 Got to have a token shoot
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Gauntlet, The Third Encounter
Fans of previous Gauntlet adventures will be pleased with Gauntlet,
The Third Encounter. In this sequel, adventure addicts can choose an alter
ego from eight characters each with unique attributes - and then descend
into the multilevel dungeons in a quest to recover the legendary Star Gem.
The game's difficulty varies with the character chosen.
Although The Third Encounter is basically a shoot-em-up, spells and
other special items take the game a step beyond that genre. Moreover, tricky
obstacles like illusory walls make this dungeon diversion as much a treasure
hunt as a shooter. The display is vivid and imaginative and the gameplay
fast and smooth. Most everyone will enjoy this magic-filled fantasy.
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Gauntlet, The Third Encounter
Maze $39.95 Tricky obstacles like illusory
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KIax
Klax, a vaguely Tetris-like puzzle contest, has already captivated
the video-game world. As such, its a guaranteed hit for the Lynx. Although
more visually appealing than Tetris, KIax's gameplay, which is based on
colors rather than shapes, is similar: colored blocks flip-flop down a
conveyor. You must catch the blocks before they fall and stack them in
bins in such a way as to align three or more identically colored blocks,
thus forming a klax. The klax blocks then vanish and those above settle
into the vacated space.
Once you start playing Klax, a maniac with an Uzi won't be able to tear
you away. Not only are the graphics clean and vivid, the music is darn
near good enough to dance to and the digitized sound effects and speech
are astonishing for such a small unit.
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Klax
Brain teaser $39.95 This Tetris-like brain challenger
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Ms. Pac-Man
Anyone not familiar with this all-time classic has been living on the
moon. Sure enough, galloping gourmets once again have a chance to conduct
Ms. Pac-Man through a series of mazes, gulping dots and fruit and playing
tag with four pesky ghosts.
The original four mazes are included, but with a quick keystroke, 21
new, super-tough mazes can be dumped onto the screen for your dietary pleasure.
In the new mazes, lightning bolts, which can be scooped up to provide a
burst of speed, appear intermittently, adding yet another twist to the
venerable Pac-Man theme.
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Ms. Pac-Man
Maze $39.95 Everyone's favorite arcade
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Paperboy
A shrewdly disguised shoot-em-up, Paperboy has you peddling your bike
down city streets, tossing newspapers and avoiding obstacles. To complete
a level, you must throw a paper onto the porch or into the paper box of
each paying customer. What? Some jerks didn't subscribe? Try giving free
samples - through their windows!
After completing a street, you take on the paperboy training course, where you flip papers at targets and guide your bike over obstacles.
Winning Paperboy means keeping your subscribers happy for an entire week. Paying customers who don't receive their paper - or who get a broken window - will cancel their subscriptions. Too many cancellations and you're out of a job.
Boasting well-rendered graphics and convincing sound effects, Paperboy
offers Lynx lovers hours of newspaper nonsense.
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Paperboy
Arcade action $39.95 This arcade classic is really just
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Roadblasters
Every video-game system needs a car-racing game, and, for the Lynx,
Roadblasters fits the bill quite nicely, combining standard racing with
heaps of action. Not only must you stay on the road, you must also wipe
out your opponents. To this end, your car comes equipped with a laser.
Occasionally, your alien partners provide additional weapons, as well as
defensive items, including cruise missiles, electro shields and nitro injectors.
Roadblasters boasts 50 levels of play, and while the early levels are
easy to complete, only a demon racer will make it to the end. If you liked
Roadblasters on another system, you won't he disappointed in the Lynx version.
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Roadblasters
Race-car simulator $39.95 Like shoot-em-ups, every game
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Todd's Adventures in Slime
World
One of the grossest games ever, Todd's Adventures in Slime World features
a planet full of green, yellow and red slime - not to mention boogers.
Yep, boogers. Slime World's six, lengthy, underground mazes contain more
monsters than a Clive Barker film, all of them anxious to coat you with
yucky slime and stomach-churning boogers. Luckily, there are water pools
in which to wash it off and slime shields to protect you.
Each of the adventures has a different objective. For example, in adventure
#1, you must search for the cavern exit, while in adventure #4, you must
get out of Slime World before it melts. In adventure #5, you must solve
each room's arcade-type puzzle. Combine all of the above with hidden rooms,
secret doors and slippery, sticky, bouncy, moving slime floors, and Slime
World comes up a guaranteed hit.
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Todd's Adventures in Slime
World Action adventure $39.95 Wonderfully gross. |
Xenophobe
In Xenophobe, your task is to exterminate aliens who have overrun nine
space stations. Although your primary objective is to eradicate the aliens,
you also can pass a level by surviving past the time limit, or by using
the station's self-destruct code.
In this shooter, you maneuver from room to room, taking elevators to
higher or lower levels, blasting aliens and gathering equipment. The graphics
in some rooms are more detailed than in others, and, in general, aren't
as impressive as those in Electrocop, a similar game. Also, the complicated
controls take some getting used to.
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Xenophobe
Action adventure $34.95 Complicated controls and
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Zarlor Mercenary
The newest member of the Lynx collection, Zarlor Mercenary, is guaranteed
to leave your trigger thumb bruised. In this futuristic shooter, you blast
not only everything that moves, but everything that doesn't: ships, buildings,
monsters, even people. To keep your flier on the cutting edge, 12 special
upgrades can be found during battle or purchased at the end of a level.
These include wing cannons, super shields, invisibility, lasers, back shooters
and side shooters.
You'll need those upgrades, too. Swarms of alien craft, all firing at
once, pepper the air with shots. As you struggle to destroy the attacking
aliens and blast the ground targets, you'll begin to understand what people
mean by the term "control pad ache." This blastathon will please all players
with a thirst for destruction.
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Zarlor Mercenary
Shoot-em-up $34.95 This blastathon will please
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Clayton Walnum is the former editor of ST-Log. He is currently preparing a book on the Lynx for Hayden Books.