Game On 04/90

Cover
Looking at this artwork, I just realized that it took me four issues of Game On to finally get to a cover involving a space battle. One would expect the subject matter to be much more prevalent, considering how often C64 games have you shoot lasers at flying enemies in outer space.

It's all the more curious, then, that none of the games in this issue feature any spaceships or anything science-fiction related. Up until now, the cover art always referenced one of the games on the disk. It's possible that the list of games changed at one point or that the artist didn't get enough time to create a fitting cover. In the end, it doesn't really matter, does it?

What matters, however, is me trying to come to terms with this scene's proportions: Either all the ships involved in this epic struggle are exceptionally huge or that planet is extremely tiny. Furthermore, the green moon looks to be so close to the blue planet, it might as well be attached to it. But, to be honest, I always liked this cover, and I still do. I find its colors quite pleasing, as well as the flashy lasers and the non-black space background.

Cover Lines
Calling any of the three games on the disk "super" is a bit of a stretch, but you can't sell a magazine with descriptions like "average" or "a bit dull, really" on the cover. Compared to the previous issues, the responsible editor stopped adding a short blurb for each game. Let me have a go at a bit of meaningless hyperbole:

• Flag Fight Prepare for EPIC battles that will ENTERTAIN you for HOURS! Translation: The battles take ages to complete.
• Megamax Behold the awesomeness of MEGAMAX and his amazing JUMP! Translation: You have no air control while jumping.
• Hypersnake Zip trough treacherous warp tunnels at HYPERSPEED! Translation: You'll speed up so fast you won't be able to react.

Magazine
Unfortunately, the disk image I have of this issue refuses to load the magazine part. I tried to locate another version, but none worked. I still have my original disk in storage, but I didn't have a chance to see if the disk still runs. For now, the text content of this issue has to remain a mystery.


Notable Games
Megamax
Hypersnake
Also, Flag Fight which I didn't want to play. It is a very slow and ponderous strategy game that makes me fall asleep if I just look at it. Here's a screenshot:

Summary
As with the previous issues, Game On is still struggling with finding some real bangers to put on the disk. Megamax and Hypersnake are fine for a few minutes, but both games had already been several years old when they got released on this disk. Let's see if things improve for the next issue...