Compute!'s Gazette (April 1988)

2 days ago

_{Cover of the April 1988 issue of Compute!'s Gazette}

Compute!'s Gazette was a spin-off of Compute! and, along with RUN, was one of the most popular Commodore 64/128 magazines in the U.S. The April 1988 issue includes:

Features

Report from the 1988 Winter Consumer Electronics Show - While game consoles were making a huge comeback, there was still plenty of new games for the Commodore 64 from companies like Activision, Epyx, Mindscape, Accolade, Broderbund, Cinemaware, Data East and others. Some games on display included Star Rank Boxing II, The Train, Power At Sea, Card Sharks, Rampage, Arcade Construction Kit, The Three Stooges, Rocket Ranger, The President Is Missing, NAVCOM 6: The Gulf Defense, Ikari Warriors, Victory Road, Speed Buggy, Karnov, The Hunt For Red October, Red Storm Rising, Spirit of War, Global Commander, Strike Fleet, The Games: Winter Edition, L.A. Crackdown, Sporting News Baseball, Impossible Mission II, 4x4 Offroad Racing, Death Sword, Dive Bomber, Zorkquest, Land of Legends, The Faery Tale Adventure, Fire Power, Sons of Liberty, Panzer Strike, Questron II, and lots more.

Close Up: The Commodore 128D - The Commodore 128D replaced the Commodore and included a detachable keyboard, built-in 1571 floppy drive, and increased video RAM.

Super CP/M Software for the 128, Part 2: Programmer's Toolbox - The second and final part of a series providing a round-up of CP/M tools for the Commodore 128, including programming languages.

Reviews

Paperboy and Gauntlet - Both of these arcade conversions were excellent on the Commodore 64.

Echelon - Other than than the dumb "LipStik" headset that came with this game that provided the ability to fire your weapon with your voice, this was an excellent space sim/mystery game.

Halls of Montezuma - A strategy game featuring historic battles in which the Marines were involved.

The Sentry - A unique sci-fi strategy game from Firebird.

_{Table of Contents from the April 1988 issue of Compute!'s Gazette}

Games

3-D Speedway - A type-in racing game for the Commodore 64.

Spy Defense - A type-in action game for the Commodore 64 in which you must rescue spies from aliens.

Programming

BASIC for Beginners: Number Drills - Random numbers and string comparison.

Machine Language Programming: File Handling - Includes a sample machine language program for reading and writing files.

Power BASIC: Power POKE - A short program that alters the syntax of the POKE command to be more efficient and easier to read.

Key Clicker - A type-in program that can add different keyclick sounds to your Commodore 64 or 128.

Mirrors - A type-in program that produces a kaleidoscopic display in hi-res mode on the Commodore 64.

Speed File for the 64 - A type-in full-featured database program for the Commodore 64.

Phantom LIST - A short machine language program that lists BASIC programs from disk to screen without modifying memory.

DGraph: Hi-Res Commands for BASIC - A type-in BASIC extension that adds commands for generating graphs.

Smart VAL - A short type-in machine language program that extends the VAL command by adding the ability to evaluate complex mathematical expressions.

Ramdisk 128 - A type-in program for adding a ramdisk to your Commodore 128.

Four for the 64 - Short programs for adding enhanced machine language capabilities to BASIC programs on the C64.

Departments

The Editor's Notes - Introducing the "Letters to the Editor" column and a GEOS programming contest.

Letters to the Editor - Letters from readers about Commodore 128 specific software, structured vs. unstructured programming, VIC-20s for education,
Gazette Feedback - Feedback from readers about organizing a users group, baud vs. bps, freezing BASIC programs, and more.

The GEOS Column: GeoPublish - A Close Look - A look at geoPublish, a desktop publishing program for GEOS. This column was even created using geoPublish.