Advanced Computer Entertainment (January 1990)
Cover of the January 1990 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment
ACE (short for Advanced Computer Entertainment) is a computer gaming magazine that was published in the U.K. Or at least it was primarily a computer gaming magazine. It did have some console coverage as well. In 1990 it was covering the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Spectrum, PC (DOS), as well as Nintendo and Sega game systems.
Specials
- ACE Flashback! - A look at computer gaming throughout the years: In 1980, the Sinclair ZX80 and Acorn Atom were introduced and the Atari 400/800 started being imported to the U.K.; In 1981 the VIC-20 was launched as well as the ZX-81; In 1982 the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was introduced along with the Commodore 64; In 1983 the Acorn Electron, Memotech MTX, IBM PC Jr., and Coleco Adam were all launched; and lots more.
- Death Chamber - A look into a BattleTech Center which was an immersive experience in which you were able to pilot giant robots, at least in simulation.
- Out of the Sun - A detailed review of Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain, the World War II combat flight simulator for the Atari ST, Amiga and PC (DOS).
- The Big Chill - A detailed look at Midwinter, an action/strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic winter caused by a meteor strike and volcanic eruptions.
- Goldcut Games - A look at upcoming releases from US Gold, including Loom, Battle of Britain, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Black Tiger, Crackdown, Dynasty Wars, and more.
- Beyond Words - Reader submitted computer artwork.
Table of Contents from the January 1990 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment
Gameplay
- Screen Test - Reviews of:
- Hard Drivin' - Polygonal racing sim for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore 64, DOS, and Archimedes.
- Bruce Lee Lives! - Beat-em-up for the Atari ST, DOS, and Amiga), Wonder Boy III (side-scrolling platformer for the Sega Master System.
- Ghostbusters - One of the few great movie based games reviewed here for the Sega Master System.
- Switchblade - Cyberpunk themed adventure game played from an overhead perspective for the Atari ST and Amiga.
- Onslaught - An action/strategy game for the Amiga ST and Amiga.
- Future Wars - A sci-fi graphic adventure game for the Atari ST, Amiga, and DOS.
- Battle Squadron - An overhead shooter for the Amiga.
- The Third Courier - A Cold War adventure/RPG from Accolade for DOS.
- Leisure Suit Larry III - The latest in the classic adult themed adventure series from Sierra for DOS.
- Myth - A side-scrolling adventure game for the Commodore 64 and Spectrum.
- Turbo Outrun - Classic racing game for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, and Commodore 64...in this case, the Commodore 64 version may very well have been the best.
- Ghouls 'N' Ghosts - The sequel to Ghosts 'n' Goblins for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, and Commodore 64.
- Moonwalker - The Michael Jackson game for the Amiga, Atari ST, Spectrum, Amstrad, and Commodore 64.
- Toobin' - Conversion of the Atari arcade game for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore 64, and DOS.
- Dragon Spirit - Overhead shooter featuring a dragon for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore 64, and DOS.
- Roller Coaster Rumble - A roller coaster simulator for the Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 64.
- Twinworld - A side-scrolling platform game for the Atari ST and Amiga.
- Bushido - An excellent beat-em-up for the Commodore 64.
- Rally Cross Challenge - A Super Sprint clone for the Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore 64, and DOS.
- Interdictor - A combat flight simulator for the Archimedes.
- It Came From The Desert! - Classic Cinemaware adventure game for the Atari ST, Amiga and DOS.
- Ghostbusters II - Based on the movie of the same name for the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Spectrum, Amstrad, and Commodore 64. Sadly, it was nowhere near as good as the original.
- Galaxy Force - Conversion of the arcade 3D shooter for the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Spectrum, and Amstrad.
- Quartz - An overhead shooter for the Amiga and Atari ST.
- Drakkhen - A fantasy RPG for the Atari ST and Amiga.
- The Cycles - Motorcycle racing game from Accolade for the Atari ST, Amiga, and DOS.
- Snare - A fun puzzle game for the Commodore 64.
- Clown-O-Mania - An arcade style game that looks like a more complex version of Q*Bert for the Amiga and Atari ST.
- In Arcadia - A look at some of the latest arcade games including Block Hole (Konami), Special Criminal Investigations (Taito), and Exterminator (Gottlieb).
- Big Bang! - A stock market like look at various game companies based on the average reviews of their games.
- Tricks 'N' Tactics - Tips and tricks for various games including TV Sports Football, Dark Side, XIS, Leonardo, Gemini Wing, Mr. Heli, King of the Beach, Rick Dangerous, First Strike, Road Runner, The Shadow of the Beast, After Burner, Operation Wolf, Forgotten Worlds, and more.
Table of Contents from the January 1990 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment (continued)
Regulars
- News - Announcement of the color version of the Game Boy, Sega systems and games to become available in video rental stores, Computer City Supercentre opens; game compilations released on CD for the Commodore 64, CPC and Spectrum, Budokan for DOS coming soon, The Wizard to be released in movie theaters in November, Pipe Dream coming soon from Lucasfilm for various platforms, and more.
- Letter Bombs - Letters from readers about Rainbow Islands, playing games with a keyboard and mouse, Barbarian on the Atari ST, the PC Engine, F-16 Combat Pilot for the Amiga, and more.
- Next Month - Coming next month, a feature on computer wargaming, a profile of John Lasseter, and more.
Back cover of the January 1990 issue of Advanced Computer Entertainment
...and more!
Check out some of my other recent posts!
Vintage Photos - Goodwill Lot 1 (117-120)
https://ecency.com/photography/@darth-azrael/vintage-photos-goodwill-lot-1-6e1994b3bf86c
Brevard Renaissance Fair 2020: Pub Sing 1 - Raisin' Toast
https://ecency.com/hive-181335/@darth-azrael/mmieqacf
Compute! (November 1988)
https://ecency.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/compute-november-1988
Check out my other Social Media haunts (though most content is links to stuff I posted on Hive or reposts of stuff originally posted on Hive):
Wordpress: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/darth-azrael
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Darth_Azrael
Blogger: https://megalextoria.blogspot.com/
Odyssee: https://odysee.com/@Megalextoria:b
Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-2385054
Daily Motion: https://www.dailymotion.com/Megalextoria
Books I am reading or have recently read:
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
The Templars by Dan Jones
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
0
0
0.000
I remember ACE. Those were the days. I purchased loads of different magazines including Zap! and Amiga Format. I very nearly worked for Future Publishing back in the 90s on the Amiga titles they published. I went for the job of Technical Editor with Amiga Shopper and one of the tasks I would have had, would have been to collate the monthly cover disk!
i bet that would have been a fun job though I suspect it wouldn't have paid very well. The U.K. seemed to have a wider variety of magazines to choose from than we had here in the U.S. When it came to the Amiga, the only Amiga exclusive magazines i remember seeing were Amiga World and a U.S. edition of Amiga Computing. I think there were a couple of others along the way but they were short lived.
Actually at the time it would have been a better salary than I was on but probably not as good as a software engineer, which is what I do now and we are paid well. Still enjoy a bit of writing nowadays, which is where Hive comes in.
There were probably around several magazines but not more than that.
Did you have the mags that had pages full of code to type in?