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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4861516" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 130: February 1988part 5/5The marvel-phile: Jeff finishes serving up justice, (pum pum pum) finding the time to level a cheap shot at Rogar of Mooria's hairline in retaliation for the editing job on his work. We are reminded that before the internet and gigabytes of storage space on computers, Jeff actually had to physically chase down all these issues that these minor villains appeared in to do his research. Quite a lot of effort for a few pages writing. So here we have Bird-man II (powersuit bogaloo), Turner D Century, Cheetah, Commander Kracken, Cyclone, Firebrand, Grappler, Hijacker, Jaguar, Letha, Mind-Wave, Mirage I, Rapier, Ringer, Shellshock, Steeplejack II (more powersuit inheritance going on here), and Vamp. None of them hugely impressive individually, and many of them lacking any powers at all after their humiliating defeats at the hands of various heroes, when all 17 of them were gathered in one bar, inverse ninja syndrome made them easy meat for Scourge. Still, even if they themselves are gone for good, someone else could take up their super-gadgets and start the cycle again. Gotta keep the copyright on those names. We also get stats for Scourge, although since he may well be more than one person, they aren't strictly reliable. Jeff is driven to madness trying to find 17 different ways of saying the villains died in the same way, at the same place, which only adds to the entertainment this issue. And so this rather distinctive chapter of their history draws to a close. At least .......... Until Scourge serves justice again!!!! Ahahahahaha!!!!!! Pum. The role of computers is sequelariffic this month. Wizardry IV gets an extensive bit of writing which is technically not a review, but that's just because they don't think they've got far enough yet. So a proper review will show up in a month or two. They still give plenty of detail on the plot and gameplay. This time, you're the bad guy, and you have to foil the adventurers and escape the ghost of your adversary. Iiinteresting. I can definitely see the fun in that, especially as it introduces a whole bunch of clever effects, such as adversaries that rest and regain powers in the same way that you do, and a keylogger that determines how many actions you've performed so far. (and how many you have left) Nice to see this series not only still going, but experimenting with it's playstyle as well. Phantasie III is our main actual review. A more conventional continuation of the series, you have to assemble the usual group of reprobates from the classes and races available, and can import characters from the previous two games if you choose. In addition to the usual hit point system, they also have a hit location one, and your characters can have their various limbs broken, or even severed entirely. Getting new ones is not easy, and so the usual advice about saving frequently, and not being ashamed to surrender or run away when faced with superior opponents applies. Another tricky epic that you need both patience and wit to complete. Sanxion is a shoot-em-up combining 2d and 3d perspectives. You'll have to practice your flying and shooting, because killing every alien ship and not being hit will not be easy. We also get the usual selection of hints, and an amusing epilogue that hints at gamer stupidity in the recent past. Please don't call them at their home address anymore, especially at odd hours in the morning. They're only a normal family, not some corporation. Hee. Shouldn't have given it out then. Most of our freelancers have the sense to get their fanmail forwarded from the TSR Offices. Another entertaining and quirky entry in this series. Dragonmirth does disturbing and grimdark. Snarf continues to suffer weird stuff unexpectedly. Wormy once again goes back to a plotline we haven't heard anything on in years. A rather advert heavy issue. Despite it's increased size, it actually had less game material than most of the recent issues. It also had another case of the special themed material being of substantially lower average quality than the rest of the material. Roger really ought to wait a little longer, make sure they have enough good stuff before doing them, instead of trying to squeeze one into most issues. The rest of the issue is rather more entertaining, with an above average amount of stuff I can see myself using at some point. But it's obvious by now that Roger's run is going to have a lot more dramatic month by month fluctuations in quality and usability than Kim's did. Will next issue be a good one, or a bad one? I'm just as unsure as you are. Lets keep going. The sooner we bypass the hazards and kill the monsters, the sooner we get the treasure.</blockquote>

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