Game Buyer Issue 3
From Magweasel
| Game Buyer | |
|---|---|
| |
| Issue | 3 |
| Date | September 1998 |
| Price | $1.99 |
| Cover | "X-Files: Close encounters with 24 out of this world games" |
| Pages | 124 |
The cover of the August 1998 issue of Game Buyer is not devoted to the X-Files game, although that is actually reviewed in this issue. It's just an unorthodox way of touting the 24 games reviewed inside. Parasite Eve gets the biggest treatment (4 pages), but only an average review.
The list price of the magazine has been cut by over half, to $1.99. Interestingly, the subscription rate is still the same -- $12 per year.
Notes
- Humor begins to make its way back into the screenshot captions, a welcome sign. However, the sidebars are mostly gone from the reviews now.
- An ad from Nova Logic actually references a Game Buyer 5-star review -- the first and last time I've seen any ad mention the mag's existence.
- Game Buyer's extensive (but very late) E3 coverage is in this issue, including an interview with Sega head Bernie Stolar that jumps from page 59 to page 81, a rarity in game mags by 1998. Best quote: when asked about launch games for the Dreamcast, Stolar responds "We'll have them."
- Slick Stuff and Letters disappears, but Padded Cell is back, this time on how much gaming sucks if you're left-handed.
- Archive sidebars on confusing game jargon, as well as a "whatever happened to" piece on Atari -- pretty cruel, considering the company left the video-game scene only two years earlier.
Editorial
Hello there...
The console wars are about to start again. Largely thanks to Dreamcast from Sega. You'll hear about Project X, but that's a weird, weird thing and it'll be hiding in the darkness of DVD players and set-top boxes. Nope, Sega's new machine is the one to watch. Incredibly powerful, it's a graphics monster -- easily capable of outstripping the most powerful PC. Easily capable of replicating the graphic quality of Sega's Model 3 arcade machines. And Sega seems to have the right plan. Dreamcast has a Modem, it has analog control as standard. Dreamcast will probably have the right price -- it looks like the US version will cost just under $200. If Sega can pull it off, with the right games at launch, then Sony and Nintendo will be in for a bumpy ride to the new Millennium. I love saying that... 'The new Millennium'. PlayStation 2? Nintendo 2000? Bring 'em on. We're more than ready.
--Frank O'Connor
Reviews
| Game | System | Publisher | Rating |
| Parasite Eve | PS | Square | 3 |
| Pocket Fighter | PS | Capcom | 4 |
| Mortal Kombat 4 | PS | Midway | 3 |
| Kartia | PS | Atlus | 4 |
| Fox Sports Golf 99 | PS | Fox Interactive | 3 |
| NCAA Football 99 | PS | EA | 4 |
| International Superstar Soccer Pro 98 | PS | Konami | 5 |
| Elemental Gearbolt | PS | Working Designs | 5 |
| Circuit Breakers | PS | Mindscape | 4 |
| NFL Extreme | PS | Sony | 3 |
| Turbo Prop Racing | PS | Sony | 4 |
| Shining Force III | SAT | Sega | 5 |
| International Superstar Soccer 98 | N64 | Konami | 5 |
| Flying Dragon | N64 | Natsume | 3 |
| Virtual Chess 64 | N64 | Titus | 3 |
| Jazz Jackrabbit 2 | PC | Epic/GOD | 4 |
| Addiction Pinball | PC | MicroProse | 4 |
| Dominion: Storm over Gift 3 | PC | Eidos | 3 |
| Game, Net and Match | PC | Blue Byte | 3 |
| X-Files: The Game | PC | Fox Interactive | 4 |
| Redjack: Revenge of the Brethren | PC | THQ | 3 |
| World of Combat 2000 | PC | Nova Logic | 5 |
| X-COM: Interceptor | PC | MicroProse | 4 |
| Hardware | Publisher | Rating |
| Pionex 826010 | Pionex | 4 |
| PowerCube Plus | Altec Lansing | 5 |
| GameShark for Game Boy | Interact | 4 |
| Maxi Gamer 3D2 8MB | Guillemot | 4 |
| Hercules Terminator 2x/i | Hercules | 3 |
| Righteous 3D II 12MB | Orchid/Micronics | 4 |
| TremorPak Plus | Interact | 5 |
| ASCII Selector | ASCII | 4 |
| Alpha 64 | Nyko | 3 |
Sample pages
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| The Padded Cell column on left-handed gaming | Padded Cell also featured reader-submitted game reviews |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| 1998 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
