The Jaguar Journal                                             January 1996

The Litter Box
---------------
by Jeffrey Norwood

	Hello everyone.  Happy New Year!  It's 1996, and so 
far, there hasn't been a better year!  Of course, last year was a 
very good year for Jaguar owners, with lots of improvement in 
both quality and the quantity of software released for the system.  
In this month's Jaguar Journal, the results of the 1995 Year-End 
Awards will be printed.  Within a few weeks, there will be a 
conference online to present the award winners their respective 
awards.
	The Jaguar Journal itself had a spectacular year in 1995.  
We moved from CatScan BB and Prodigy to CompuServe and 
the 'Net.  We went from an unheard of source of information to a 
respected source on info, on the same level as Atari Explorer 
Online and STReport.  We came to the Atari Gaming Forum and 
brightened it up with conferences.  And most of all, we found out 
who the true Atari fans were - the readers of The Jaguar Journal 
(well, maybe that's a far-fetched statement, but hey!).
	Why *WE*?  First, it's more than just myself.  There's 
my dad, who bought the computer; my friends who actually 
encouraged me to continue doing this; the employees at EB that 
give me reasons to yell at them because of their disrespect 
towards the Jaguar <g>; but most of all, *WE* includes 
*YOU*.  Without you, there would be no Jaguar Journal.  
Without you, there may not be an Atari Jaguar!  Without you, 
Sam T. would be lost (isn't he already?).  So, thanks to all for a 
great year.
	In the January issue of CompuServe Magazine, an article 
entitled "Jaguar Journal Roars Game Machine's Beat" by Greg 
Gilliom, and picture of myself (playing AvP) that goes along with 
it.
	Finally, on December 31, 1995, appox. 1 hour before 
the new year, The Jaguar Journal Web Site was launched.  There 
is going to be a lot more work put into it as time goes on, so stay 
tuned.  Here is the address if you'd like to see it on the World 
Wide Web:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Jeffrey_Norwood

	I would also like to thank those who help me get reviews 
of titles in the pages of The Jaguar Journal.  Many review on a 
part-time basis, and I do appreciate it.  Thanks.
	Thanks also goes out to our  two advertisers, Gameware 
Express and Demand Systems, Inc., who will continue to 
advertise through July (maybe longer).
	Portions of each Jaguar Journal will be viewable on The 
Jaguar Journal Web Page.  Starting on January 14, portions of 
The Jaguar Journal Holiday Shopping Guide (December issue of 
The Jaguar Journal) will be posted, so keep an eye out!

Happy New Year everyone!


CompuServe Magazine Covers The Jaguar Journal!

	Recently, a little fame and fortune came the way of Jeffrey
Norwood, a kid journalist with a bright future.  He was featured in
CompuServe Magazine, in an article by Gregor Gilliom.  The world-
wide magazine (subscription rate of 1.8 million people) covers the 
happenings on the online service of the same name.  Here is the entire
article, as it appeared in CompuServe Magazine.

CompuServe Magazine
January 1996
Page 9
by Gregor Gilliom

JAGUAR JOURNAL Prowls the Game Machine's Beat

	Sixteen-year-old Jeff Norwood hopes to be a journalist
someday, so he's cutting his teeth in, of all places, the Atari Gaming
Forum area (GO ATARIGAMING).  There, he's become the Ted
Turner of video-game coverage, heading up publishing projects that
include a monthly virtual magazine and frequent conferences with
players and industry insiders alike.
	His JAGUAR JOURNAL -- named for the company's latest
game system -- is packed with well-written articles, reviews, and
opinions (the compressed text documents have been downloaded
hundreds of times), and his 90-minute conferences have drawn 
members from around the world.  "At the last one there were New
Englanders, Californians, Canadians, and Europeans," says Jeff.  The
corporate reps (who have included Atari's director of customer
service and several producers of third-party games), Jeff adds,
couldn't wait for the next one."
	For the future, Jeff's planning a JAGUAR JOURNAL World
Wide Web sit (when his dad gets a new computer, he says) and
wants to get involved with local writing workshops.  To download
JAGUAR JOURNAL, visit the Atari Gaming Forum area and search
the "Atari News/Reviews" library using the keywords JAGUAR 
JOURNAL.
--Gregor Gilliom


IT'S COMING!
("I can't wait for the next one!")
THE DAY WE WAIT FOR
("What really is the best?")
IT'S WORTH DYING FOR!
("Simply unbelievable!")
THEY ARE IN THIS ISSUE - BUT NOW, WE GIVE THEM TO
THEIR OWNERS.

The Jaguar Journal presents
The FIRST-EVER Year-End Awards Online Conference
In the Atari Gaming Forum
Friday, January 19, 1995
Don't Miss Out!


1996 Game Schedule
----------------------
	In 1996, Atari plans on publishing 20 titles for the 64-bit
Jaguar.  The official list is yet to be available; however, here are
some of the titles that, from The Jaguar Journal's point-of-view,
will be released in 1996.

(in no particular order)

Iron Soldier II
Defender 2000
Baldies
NBA Jam: TE
Zoop
Phase Zero
Robinson's Requiem
Mortal Kombat III
Batman Forever
Frank Thomas Baseball
X O Man

Some of them are third party titles, which are not included in 
Atari's 20 game plan, because they do not publish 3rd party
games.


The following was a message posted in the Atari Gaming Forum
on CompuServe.  At the end, there will be some comments from
myself on what this person had to say.

My take on the Jaguar...
by Joseph E. Moran

With all of the discussion regarding the fate of the Jaguar going 
on, I feel this is a good time to do a post-mortem (or a pre-
mortem) of the Jaguar, and analyze the true reasons why it's not 
going to be the success it very easily could have been. (If 
anybody cares.) I should warn everybody up front-it's 
REALLY long.
	For starters, I'd just like to say that I have been a 
devout, enthusiastic, Jaguar supporter since the very beginning. In 
fact, I bought my unit Thanksgiving weekend, 1993. I wouldn't 
be surprised if I had one of the first dozen units that were shipped 
to stores. I say this because I want to establish that I'm not an 
Atari-basher, but rather a Jaguar enthusiast who has made a 
number of objective observations (many of them quite painful) 
over the last 27 months. I've been visiting this forum almost the 
entire time, mostly lurking, and have become familiar with the 
personalities and the arguments that reside here.
	The Jaguar is a powerful machine, even when compared 
to the Saturn and PlayStation. Anyone who reads and 
understands the technical specs can see that. But, as we all 
know, a powerful system is only a tiny fraction of what is 
required to have a successful platform. 
	I could go on almost endlessly about the things Atari has 
done wrong with regard to the Jaguar. But, to be fair, they didn't 
do everything wrong. Some things were just out of their control. I 
give them a great deal of credit for having the courage to get 
back into the market with a new machine, at the height of the 
Sega/Nintendo domination of the industry. In my opinion, given 
Atari's reputation, it was not an insignificant achievement to get 
the Jaguar into major retailers like Electronics Boutique, 
Babbage's, Toys R Us, and now Wal-Mart.
	But, getting the machine in the store is only the first step. 
What you do after that point determines how successful the 
system will be. In most regards, Atari's marketing support has 
been absolutely abysmal. I don't know whether it was lack of 
funds, lack of smarts, or both, but whatever the reason, the 
Jaguar never got the support it deserved, and that is why we are 
all here awash in rumor and innuendo about the Jag's, and 
perhaps even Atari's demise.
	From the very beginning, the quality and quantity of 
games was sorely lacking. There were too few games in the 
beginning, and even when they picked up the pace, too many of 
the games were just OK. There are dozens of good games for 
the Jaguar. Problem is, they could have just as easily been done 
on the Genesis or Super Nintendo (I refer to games like Theme 
park, Cannon Fodder, Syndicate, and others.) These are good 
games, but they're not great. They don't make your jaw drop, 
make you rub your eyes, and say, WOW! That is precisely what 
the Jaguar has always needed (and what the Playstation and 
Saturn, and even SNES to a certain extent, with Donkey Kong 
Country, have delivered). Every game need not be a 
showstopper, but some of them must be, and few of them really 
were. Even games that are universally regarded as the best the 
Jaguar has to offer to date (Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, Super 
Burnout, etc. etc.) can't really compete graphically with most 
games from Sony and Sega. I know that graphics aren't the only 
thing to look for in a game, and that gameplay is also important, 
but let's not kid ourselves-graphics are the most important 
factor in determining whether most people buy a game, and great 
graphics really can stimulate word of mouth about a system. 
Think about it. Ever seen a group of guys saying, "Wow, Bill. 
Wasn't the gameplay on <insert game name here> just 
amazing?!?" No, of course you don't. Gameplay doesn't sell 
games. Graphics sell games. (I have eighteen games for the 
Jaguar, and the only ones I would show to impress my friends 
would be Ultra Vortek, Rayman, and perhaps Hover Strike CD, 
though the latters frame rate is pretty bad.)
	Also, there were several games released for the Jaguar, 
quite frankly, that should never have been allowed to see the light 
of day. I refer primarily to Club Drive. With all due respect to the 
programmers, that game would have been a disgrace on the Atari 
7800, and the fact that it was released on the Jaguar only 
reinforced the notion that what few games the Jag had sucked big 
time. Other games weren't quite as heinous, but there were just 
too many mediocre titles for a supposedly advanced, 64-bit 
system to have. Not every game is going to be a winner 
(PlayStation and Saturn have there fair share of dogs too) but the 
percentage of so-so software on the Jag is now, and always has 
been, too high.
	I now move to a discussion of the Jaguar CD. This oft-
delayed peripheral came out way, way, too late to be of much 
use. I remember seeing it at CES in January, 1995, and 
supposedly it was completed several months before that. Why 
then, was it released in September of 1995, almost a full year 
after it was done. We were told that it was to allow time for 
developers to complete a barrage of CD-ROM software and 
that the CD-ROM drive would be accompanied by a dozen titles 
from day one (I believe 12 was the figure quoted). So then why 
were there only two games available 30 days after the CD came 
out, and why are there now only six CD titles available (aside 
from the pack-ins, of course) months later?
	Advertising. Absolutely a must. Atari's advertising has 
been a mixed bag. They usually did a good job advertising in the 
game mags (though their ads have practically disappeared over 
the last few months, adding yet more credence to the "bye-bye 
Jaguar" rumors), but the television ads could have been a lot 
better. For starters, there should have been more of them. If I 
had a nickel for every time I saw a Jaguar ad, I'd have a quarter. 
In fact, had I not downloaded the QuickTime movies of the ads 
here in this forum, I would never have seen some of them at all. 
(I've never seen the infomercial either, and I've been surfing 
cable for over a month now, at all hours of the day and night.) 
When I did see ads, they weren't really very compelling, (I'm 
speaking of the teacher ad from a while back, and the new "light 
bulb" ad. The AvP ad was great, though.) and certainly weren't 
as clever as the ads from Atari's competitors.
	While I realize Atari doesn't have the deep pockets of a 
Sony, Sega, or Nintendo, there is a saying-"Where there's a 
will, there's a way". You don't *have* to have a zillion dollars to 
have a good ad. It helps, but its not an absolute requirement. 
Atari could have done a lot better in targeting their ads as well. I 
don't have any scientific data to back this up, but I would venture 
that a significant percentage of Jaguar owners aren't the 
stereotypical eighth-grade geek, but rather, mature adults in their 
early-to-late twenties (like many of us here), who know Atari 
from the days of the 2600, 5200, and 8-bit computers in the late 
seventies and early eighties. This would be a valid demographic 
for Atari to persue, and in my opinion, they have not done so, 
certainly not as vigorously as they could have. If they had, I 
would have seen a *lot* more ads.
	So here we are, in January of 1996, waiting for the other 
shoe to drop. While I discount all rumor until proven as fact, in 
the back of my mind, I know (as any rational, sane, and objective 
person would) that the outlook is indeed bleak. Even if only half 
of the rumored game development cancellations have actually 
occurred (AvP2, IS2, FFL, etc.) the Jaguar is going to have 
more trouble than ever appearing as a credible platform in the 
cutthroat video game war of 1996. Jag2? Voice modem? VR 
Headset? All gone. The existence of a Voice Modem and VR 
headset would be great ways to differentiate the Jaguar from it's 
peers. But alas, Atari cannot, or will not, make them happen.
	I have a lot invested in Atari. An Atari 2600 has my first 
video game, in 1980. A 800 was my first computer, in 1981. I 
traded up through the Atari line throughout the eighties, from XL, 
to XE, to ST. I have a 7800,  a Lynx, and I almost bought an XE 
game system. I'm a stockholder. But even I, as loyal, and 
enthusiastic an Atarian as there is on this planet, have to admit 
that the end is near, and that at the moment, the Jaguar seems 
destined to soon join its departed brethren in the Sunnyvale 
cemetery.
	To be sure, not all the blame can be laid at Atari's 
doorstep. Sometimes you just get bad breaks, which Atari 
certainly had it's share of. It's not easy to go up against 
entrenched companies with almost limitless funds, like Sega, 
Nintendo, and Sony most certainly are. Also, the legions of 
brain-dead salespeople who chased away Jaguar sales didn't 
help matters. And, to be fair, Atari is not the only casualty in this 
war. The 3DO, by most accounts, is a failure, and that company 
has all but gotten out of the hardware business, and has sold their 
future technology away to finance other ventures. (How the M2 
will do remains to be seen).
	I sincerely hope that some miracle can occur, that Atari 
get their sh*t together, and yet make the Jaguar a respectable, 
competitive, and viable platform. But frankly, I just don't see it 
happening. And we really need to be honest to ourselves. As 
much as we all appreciate Don Thomas' presence in this forum 
over the last two years, answering our questions and giving us 
information about new releases, etc., if he knows, at this moment, 
that the Jaguar is in fact going to be dropped in two months, he's 
not about to tell us. All Atari has promised  for the future is that 
they *plan* to release 20 games in 1996. Not that they *will* 
release 20 games, that they *plan* to. As I recall, they 
*planned* to have fifty games out two years ago. Frankly, if that 
doesn't scream that the end is near, I don't know what does. 20 
games in twelve months is not going to sustain the Jaguar and 
increase the installed base, and if 20 games (if that many) is all 
there are going to be, Atari may as well just call it quits now, 
concentrate on software for the PC and other platforms, and quit 
stringing us along. It's been a long, disappointing ride, and I 
almost wish it were finally over. Almost.
	Finally, the most ironic part of all of this is that it occurred 
on the Jaguar, a platform with the most loyal and enthusiastic 
owners of any consumer electronics product; perhaps any 
product, period. The existence of this forum is a testament to the 
passion of all of us, Atari fanatics that care enough about a 
system and a company to come here day after day, reading about 
and discussing the system. I seriously doubt that any other 
company, video game or otherwise, has a more ardent 
constituency. Who else has so many home pages, BBSes, 
publications, forums, user groups? To others, the Playstation, or 
Saturn, or Genesis, or whatever, is just a system. They could 
have just as easily bought a different one had the winds been 
blowing differently that day. But to me, and I'm sure, to many of 
you, the Jaguar is a system with a proud heritage, from a 
company that we grew up with, that we followed, that we 
patronized for over a decade, and that we had faith in, to make 
the Jaguar what it could have, and should have, been. I submit 
that we have been let down. It may sound corny, but I bought the 
Jaguar because it was an Atari. For over 10 years, I had no 
video game system, and I didn't care. No Nintendo, no Genesis, 
and I didn't care. My last machine before the Jag was a 7800 
(unless you count the Lynx). I wistfully longed for the days of the 
2600, when you couldn't go two feet without finding games for it, 
when Atari was a two-billion dollar company, when everyone 
new who Atari was and what they did.
	It could have been that way again, had it been done right. 
It's too bad, really. 
	Despite all of this, I have a Jaguar and almost twenty 
games. I do enjoy playing it, and will continue to purchase 
software for it (Primal Rage and BattleMorph are on my list). I 
just wish by now that we were all using a strong, well-supported, 
mainstream system with a large installed base, rather than a 
underutilized, ill-reputed, struggling, niche machine.
Well, that's all I have to say. Feel free to respond, flame, or 
whatever. I have to say that writing this has been a cathartic 
experience, and an interesting way to spend 90 minutes. In fact, I 
have come less than two hundred characters short of the 10,000 
character limit for messages. Sorry for the long-windiness. I 
welcome any and all comments.


REVIEWS

===================================================
Game Title: Atari Karts
Publisher:  Atari Corporation
Developer:  Miracle Designs
Format:	Cartridge
System:     Atari Jaguar 64
# Players:  One and Two Player Options

Review By:  Larry Tipton

Atari Karts, a new racing game from the folks at Atari is, in a word, WILD!
 The game features a weird cast of kart drivers, a crow, skeleton, sea
creature, bear, space alien, and several others forms of "life." Make no
mistake about it, this is a REAL arcade racing game.  Each kart racer has its
own special strength and weakness -- What this really means is that each kart
has different handling characteristics. 

There are a total of 10 worlds, each world having several different tracks.
 There are dirt, asphalt, sand, cobblestone, snow and other types of tracks.
 One really cool feature of this game is the ability to play the tracks flat
or with slight hills.  The hill option makes a great game even better.  Some
of the tracks are fast, others require precision control do to the constant
twists and turns.  

Atari Karts includes four levels of play.  Beginner, Warrior, Miracle and
Jaguar Aces.  Initially, Beginner is the only level you have access too.
 Each level has 3 circuits. A circuit is composed of 6 tracks. In order to
advance to the next level you must place first overall in each of the three
circuits in that level.  The names of the circuits are Borregas, Carlton and
Tempest.  You can race them in any order.  Once you have successfully placed
first in each of the circuits you get to race on a track from an all new
world called the Miracle Race.  This new world will be featured in the next
level.  This is equivalent to and end boss.  You race against one CPU
controlled player.  If you beat the end boss character, that character is
added to the available kart personalities at your disposal.  There are 4 boss
characters:

Haratari - Beginner Level
Pum King - Warrior Level
Fire Bug - Miracle Level
Miracle Man - Jaguar Aces Level

Each have progressively better racing specifications.

In order to advance you must earn race points.  Only the top four seeds earn
points.  If you place less than 4th, you must race again.  You also lose a
car.  You begin with 3.

This game is a great one player game.  The two player option makes this a
must buy.  Go head to head against a friend.  But it's not just the two of
you.  You have to compete against the rest of the Atari Kart racers.  The
framerate is lightning fast in two player mode too!

Atari Kart's graphics are outstanding.  There are at least 3 levels of
background scrolling.  The frame rate is FAST.  The tracks are detailed. Dirt
looks like dirt, asphalt looks like asphalt. The Karts scale in and out
nicely, they are also animated quite well.  

The music is very good.  It fits nicely with the game. The sound effects are
also good. It's too bad that you can't hear the engine sounds of the CPU
controlled cars.

The game control is outstanding.  I highly recommend the Pro-Controller for
this game.  The left/right buttons are used to make sharp turns.  I played
the game with the regular controller too.  It too is very responsive.

What's an arcade style race game these days without bonuses and hazards?
 Well, Atari Karts has 'em!

Bonuses include:
Rabbit - Long speed burst
Speed Arrow - Slingshot burst of speed
Wheel - No friction
Steer - No skids
Heart - Extra car
Ramp - Jump over terrain that may slow you down

Hazards:
Turtle - Slow down
Red Arrows - Reverses you pad controls (I hate this one!)
Green - Reverses your opponent's controls (two player only)

There are other hazards like trees, snowmen, snowmobiles, barrels, oil
slicks, water, craters, ice, moguls, gongs, life guard towers, and other
obstacles scattered across the tracks.

The game starts off pretty easy, especially for a video racing game veteran
like me. <g>  The Warrior level is a bit more challenging.  I'm currently
playing the Miracle level.  This one is a lot tougher.  The CPU Kart drivers
are more aggressive.  There are also more obstacles. The autosave feature
built into the game is a nice touch. There are no passwords to remember.
 
OK, Game Rating on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest obtainable score:

Game Graphics	9   
Control              9
Sound F/X	      8
Music		      8
Fun Factor	      10
Replay Value      9
 
Overall Score	90 
===================================================
Review by: David "Snap!" Schmudde
Title: Battlemorph
Publisher: Atari
Developer: ATD (Attention to Detail )
Format: CD
Retail Price: $59.99
Supports: ProController
	Memory Track

REVIEW: Battlemorph may go down in history as the best sequel in Jaguar 
history. Its prequel, Cybermorph, had mixed reviews throughout video game 
magazines and was one of those games the player either loved or hated, and 
that brings to my first point; almost every complaint about Cybermorph has 
been fixed in Battlemorph. For example: the top 6 complaints I heard from 
people were: 1) no in game music, 2) Skylar is annoying, 3)  bad scaling, 4) 
no background,  5) dark gloomy graphics and 6) its just collect the pods. 
ALL those "problems"  have corrected (I personally loved Cybermorph and 
had very few complaints). Skylar only talks when nessary (although now she 
seems to call everything about 10+ seconds late), there are nice bitmaped 
backgrounds, smooth beautiful scaling and there is much ingame music. Plus 
there are different mission types with detonators (blow up the planet), data 
pods (pods) and new weapon searches (gain new weapons). But enough 
about Cybermorph vs. Battlemorph, I'll focus on the topic of this article, 
Battlemorph as a game, and what a game it is. The first thing you see when 
you pop in this CD is (after the Jaguar logo) is a nice title screen with some 
really cool guitar strings. After that you see the amazing SGI intro with a Sean 
Connery sound alike explaining the story behind the War Griffon (all the T-
Griffons from Cybermorph were destroyed by the Pernitians). After the intro 
it shows some credits and then the whole thing loops (back through the intro 
etc...). At anytime the player can skip this by pressing a button. When the 
button is pressed it takes you to the player select screen. THE MEMORY 
TRACK IS HIGHLY SUGGESTED. This game isn't impossible without it, 
but its hard enough already. Anyways, this is where the person makes his 
player (and saves it with if they have a memory track). The input and player 
select screen is very similar to Blue Lightning (also developed by ATD), but 
like every other aspect of Battlemorph it is more sophisticated than Blue 
Lightning. If there is a game already saved on the Memory Track then it will 
show a picture at the right of the weapons that the player has earned. Which 
brings me to the next point. The weapons are earned after certain missions, 
which is more like Iron Soldier then the original Cybermorph. So when a new 
game is started the only weapons the War Griffon has are the "built in" twin 
shots, decoys, and cruise missiles. Later the War Griffon can be equipped with 
mines, mortars and the incinerator. Decoys seem pretty useless at first, but 
later they can be used to pick up items (though force fields) and attract 
homing missiles and kamikazes. Mortars still continue to be my favorite 
weapon because they way the programmers let you know how far your 
aiming. By having the cross hair scale out to the distance you are going to 
shoot it (the longer  the button is held down the further the shot). Very smart. 
Anyways, back to the game. The player selects the 4 weapons (plus the built 
in twin shot)  they want to use for the mission BEFORE they land, unlike 
Cybermorph where the T-Griffon collects weapons as it goes along. The 
missions are selected from about 5 planets and a main "general" planet which 
can be played only after all the other planets have been beaten. Once all the 
planets have been conquered then the Sutherland (your starship) moves onto 
another cluster of planets. But it must start somewhere so this is where the 
player selects his planet and weapons. After that there is a nice SGI landing 
(and there's also a docking) sequence with voice (which can be skipped at 
any time). 
          Now the action begins. Once the War Griffon lands Skylar says "good 
luck" and you're on your way. The first thing newcomers will notice is the fly 
anywhere environment, and let me tell you if you've never played 
Cybermorph, this is really nice. The button config will also delete vetrens 
because the basic button config of  the War Griffon is very similar to the basic 
button config of the T-Griffon, and the control is dead on. The game itself is 
amazing. The graphics are reminiscent of Cybermorph but with more realistic 
colors, very nice backdrops, and more texture mapping. Almost all the 
buildings are texture mapped and a lot of the enimes too. EVERYTHING 
looks better. Thats not all, as many of the readers of the Jaguar Journal 
already know, you can also go underwater and underground! First the 
underwater effect. It is very nice, with everything wavy, but not too wavy to 
annoy the player. The effect is very believable and nice looking. In regular 
water the War Griffon slows down, but there is also red (harmful), yellow 
(allows the War Griffon to swim though it at regular speed) and light blue 
(healing) water. Underwater the player can shoot bridge struts so above 
water the bridge will fall and the enemies will drive off to their death (you can 
destroy the bridge from above water too). The underground effect is also 
nice, although its really just going though tunnels, but still nice. The tunnels are 
entirely texture mapped and forces you to go "into the cockpit" which is just 
a first person view. There the player will encounter doors, chomping doors 
and some enemies. Some other new things include keys or "access codes" for 
opening certain colored doors and domes, enhanced scan (better radar), 
batteries for turning on and off power stations (which turns on and off force 
fields and fans), magazines for increased max ammo count and speed up rings 
that speed you up when their flown though. One of the most useful new items 
is the map mode. By pressing option the player can look at a map of the 
world (at a nice 3/4 view). From there the player may move around an arrow 
and point to any object on the map. This really helps when you're having 
trouble finding something because the white arrow on the radar will point 
toward the feature you marked on the map. This limits the frustration factor 
found by some people in Cybermorph. 

Wrap up
---------------
          The graphics prove that a game doesn't have to be totally texture 
mapped to still be very impressive. I also believe that the graphics give the 
game character and shows creativity. The music is wonderful sci-fi and 
changes when the War Griffon goes underground and underwater. The 
underwater music is very "under the sea" and I personally don't like it much, 
but if you like that kind of music then its great. The control is very nice and 
the replay value is great too, with 3 different difficulty levels. The game is also 
very fun, which is probably the most important aspect.  This game is a major 
improvement over Cybermorph with more puzzle, action and playability, so 
even if you hated Cybermorph this game should still be enjoyable. All this 
adds up to be THE best game for the Jaguar CD and one of the best games 
for the Jaguar. Just think of Battlemorph as the best of Cybermorph + the 
best of Doom + the best of Iron Soldier. On a final note here is my 
suggestion: if you don't have a Jaguar CD, now is a great time to buy one 
(with Battlemorph) and if you do have a Jaguar CD give yourself a late 
present and GET THIS GAME!

Ratings:
Graphics - 10 
Music/Sound F/X - 9.5
Play Control - 10
Fun Factor - 10
Replay Value - 10
Overall - 99
===================================================
Game Title: Missile Command 3D
Publisher:  Atari Corporation
Developer:  Virtuality Entertainment, Ltd.
Format:	    Cartridge
System:     Atari Jaguar 64, Pro-Controller Compatible

Review By:  Larry Tipton

Missile Command 3D is yet another blast from the past, brought back to life 
for play on the Jaguar 64.  Fans of the original will not be disappointed.  Not
only do you get the original arcade classic, but you get two brand new 
versions, each with there own unique play characteristics.

Original Missile Command offers all the excitement of the original arcade hit
and then some.  You can play this version on a "Virtual Lynx", "Virtual 
Arcade Cabinet", or plain screen.  One weird but cool feature in Original MC
is that you can manipulate the game screen.  You can zoom in or out.  You 
can also tilt the screen forward, back, left and right.  Zoom out far enough 
and you can see the entire arcade cabinet or Lynx!

Missile Command 3D, formally known as Missile Command Plus, offers a 3D look to missiles, turbo missiles, fireball missiles and super missiles. You 
also get smartbombs and cascades.  Smartbombs will blow up all enemies 
currently on the screen.  Cascades will blow up a group of enemies. Enemies 
include missiles, bombers, asteroids, kamikazes and robots. Scoring is similar 
to that of the arcade original.

Virtual Missile Command (VMC) is a completely different kind of game, but 
at the same time feels like and old friend.  The gameplay elements are similar.
Unlike the other two versions of this game,  with VMC you can only fire
missiles from the station you occupy.  You can jump from station to station
quite easily though.  Everything rotates in real-time.  It can get a little
dizzying at first.  Again with this version, you can look up, down, left and
right.  However, this time there is NO radar to help you see.  Also, you don't
have to lead you shots. You get laser cannons ala Star Wars this time around.
As you destroy enemies you receive powerups that will upgrade your laser
cannons, cities as well as smartbombs and missiles that you can launch and
explode on command!  The Undersea stage really feels like you are under 
water, complete with bubbles and the waters surface in view up above.

VMC is composed of 3 Stages (according to the manual) , each having 3 
sublevels with end bosses.  Thus far, I have not made it passed the 2nd Stage.  Thankfully, the difficulty is quite high. The Undersea Colony and 
Cloud City stages look quite nice.  Enemies include missiles, enemy crafts, 
mini and main bosses.

There are six different types of enemy missiles: Normal, MIRVs (These move 
in a straight line but can split into several missiles), SWIRVs (These guys can 
move out of harms way), Bombs (These fall straight down), Rovers (only 
fired by bosses) and a secret unknown type.

Powerups include laser ammo, smart bomb, repair gun, missile ammo, repair 
city, and  laser upgrade.

VMC has 3 difficulty settings Easy, Normal and Hard.  You cannot advance 
to the later stages if you play the game on easy mode.

Overall, I really like this game.  The are a few things that could have been
done to make the game even better.  The enemy missiles look more like 
spikes to me.  They should have been texture mapped.  As it is they are 
simple 5 sided elongated pyramid looking things.   The enemy missiles in the 
3D and Virtual versions don't leave long exhaust trails like they do in the 
original version.  If fact, there is no trail at all in the Underwater stage.   The 
top scores screen has a high scores for Missile Command Plus!?  I guess 
there was a name change for the Missile Command 3D version at the last 
minute.  The control is pretty good, but rough on the thumb.  The game 
would be even better using a joystick, mouse or TRACKBALL!

The mini and end bosses look superb, especially the Eel, Dragon and UFO 
(Its HUGE....Say is this the ship from Cosmic Ark?)

OK, Game Rating on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest obtainable score:

Game Graphics	8   (MC Classic=7, MC 3D=8, Virtual MC=9) 
Control		8
Sound F/X	8
Music		7
Fun Factor	9
Replay Value    10
 
Overall Score	8.5  
===================================================
Fever Pitch Soccer

Review by: Alistair Bodin

I love Soccer games and was honored to be asked to review Fever Pitch 
Soccer  on the Jaguar for the Jaguar Journal. The game is a conversion of the 
highly successful US Gold game that was number one in the UK charts. The 
Jaguar version is an excellent conversion with many improvements, better 
graphics, more colors, better sound and faster game play. The players have 
names and numbers and this adds to the atmosphere when playing the game.

This is no game of animated cones all the same and indistinguishable, the 
players have character, are distinguishable in looks and have special skills. 
There is `Barger' the fat one who when he gets the ball will flatten nearly all 
the players as he makes his way to the goal. There's `The Cheat' the bald 
one whose special is that full length dive with no one near as he tries to con 
the ref, a great move when it works especially in the penalty area! `The 
Marker' is great as he tightly sits on the oppositions star players. `Passer' the 
slender longhaired one is excellent as he strokes the ball up the pitch to the 
star forwards. Then there is `Tricky' the tanned one with spiky hair who 
mesmerizes defenses with his ball skills. `Blaster' the strong dark haired one 
has a ferocious shoot and get the angle right the keeper has no chance as the 
burning ball bursts into the net. Last but not least is my favorite `Bender' 
who unleashes a shot that curves like a banana into the net 
GGGOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!

If you want a serious realistic boring game of soccer FPS is not for you, on 
the other hand if you like fast paced action with plenty of  goals then FPS is 
the game for you. Hey I've played over 50 games with my mate and we have 
yet to have a boring 0-0 draw. There is no set up to speak choose the teams 
choose the pitch and off  we go. If you have the ball you control that player 
and if you don't you try with the nearest player to get it back. The computer 
chooses the player for you to control and controls the other 20 players as 
well (if they are all still on the pitch). I must point out that occasionally the 
computer switches your defender at the wrong time, most annoying if you are 
just about to tackle and the wrong player makes the tackle. But great fun if it 
happens to the opponent so it evens up at the end. Come on Brazil. Passer 
passes to Tricky who hops round a few opposing players lays the ball square 
to Bender who shoots and the ball bends into the top corner and the keeper 
has no chance Brazil lead 6-3, the crowd think it is all over! The final whistle 
goes and Brazil have beaten England 6-3 in the World Final and I was Brazil.

For two player action this is my favorite Jaguar game as it is just great fun to 
play. Peter my 9 year son had the game and I left him alone with it and in 
minutes he was playing and beating the computer then worse still he beats 
me! He has the annoying habit of diving and conning the ref to give him a 
penalty which inevitably he scores from. Hey this lad has potential once he 
was even 6-1 down and managed to score 5 goals in just under 2 minutes to 
snatch a draw.

There is a choice of either tournament mode or exhibition mode. In Exhibition 
mode you choose the teams and the better ones have more star players and 
the worse ones no star player at all. You can either play two player or against 
the computer and the game is great fun. For a real challenge there is 
tournament mode, you choose your team and they start with no star players 
and as you win games you get the opportunity to have star players so you can 
strengthen your team and hopefully go all the way and win the world final and 
then beat the All Stars team!

The great thing with this game is it is easy to set up choose the teams, the 
pitch, the time and whether replays, Cameos are on or off and then the Agro 
mode on or off. When this mode is on the ref seems to ignore all but the most 
blatant fouls and he even misses those sometimes. I would say a bit like real 
soccer eh? Turn it off and the ref is less tolerant and will flash the yellow 
cards and occasionally the red card for those nasty fouls. No long protracted 
set up here a few clicks and off we go.

It plays great but how does it look I here you ask, you didn't ask, well I'll tell 
you anyway. The graphics are improved over the original versions and so 
they should be, but to be honest they are not as good as say Rayman, but 
then have you seen any pretty soccer players recently, thought not. The 
players are distinguishable from each others and look very real and are 
brightly colored and the pitches are really neat.

The game has the standard sound effects that add to the game, the oohhhhs 
and ahhhs as shots go close. The groans and thumps as players are fouled 
and splatted to the ground. The refs whistle is occasionally heard as he plays 
the game. The crowd are chanting the fog horns blaring as Brazil attack down 
the left, Berbetto has the ball and bang that banana shot goes flying into the 
net. GGOOOALLL comes blaring out and the crowd wildly cheer for the 
goal. Hey the sounds are not perfect but they add to the game and are certainly better than the original version.

Controlling the players is a piece of the proverbial cake. A for short pass, B 
for a shot or long pass and C for that special move. Star players have a bit of 
after touch so once the ball is passed or shot use the direction pad to add a 
little swerve or lob! Hey and the Star players can cross the ball (B&C 
together) and do a crafty back heel (A&B together) Nice simple controls that 
just let you get on with having great fun playing the game.

Hey I am running out of space at the end of this review and apparently the 
good folks at the Jaguar Journal want some scores for the categories. OK 
here we go.

Scotland 3, England 2 is my favorite score :-)

Graphics 8.5/10
Music/Sound Effects 7/10
Play Control 9/10 occasionally the computer swaps players at the wrong time!
Fun Factor 9.9/10 hey no body is perfect!
Replay value 9/10 I forgot to mention you can replay all the goals and any of the action at any time.

I have to give an overall rating so being a logical chap I add the 5 categories and multiply by 2, now where is my calculator, uhmm that makes the Overall score 86.8.
===================================================


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIPS OF THE TRADE

ULTRA VORTEK
    *  Cheats (at options screen):
       *  Annihilations (during "Annihilation Time"):
             Uppercut opponent (press & hold Punch). Works with any
             character only on the "Stoned Poseidon", "Hell's Kitchen", or
             "Temple of the Vortek" stages.
    *  Hidden Moves:
       *  Buzzsaw
             *  Hi Buzzsaw        : T, T, Punch
             *  Pain Machine      : Charge Aw, T, Kick
             *  Low Bolo          : T, T, Jab
             *  Gut Spear Uppercut: Charge Aw, T, Punch
             *  Airgrab & Slam    : (in air), D + Punch
             *  Ricochet Blades   : (in air but not T), D + Jab
             *  Gut Grinder       : (in close), Aw + Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Core Breach    : (not close), D, T, Punch
                *  Bolo Beheading : T, T, T, Jab
       *  Dreadloc
             *  Fire Breath            : T, Aw, Punch
             *  Speed Slice            : Charge Aw, T, Punch
             *  Come to Daddy          : T, T, Punch
             *  Spin Staff             : D, T, Jab
             *  Angle Spear Dive       : (in air), D, D, Punch
             *  Back Off, Man!         : T, Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Jamaican Shish Kebab: (not close), T, T, T, Jab
                *  Clean Slice         : (not close), Aw, T, Jab
       *  Grok
             *  BoulderMorph      : Charge Aw, D + Jab
             *  GroundPounder     : Charge Aw, release, Jab
             *  Boulder Bounce    : Jump T, D + Jab
             *  The Tenderizer    : (in close), Aw + Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Rocky Uppercut : (in close), charge (& hold) D, Jab.
                *  Avalanche Crush: Jump over opponent, D + Kick.
       *  Lucius
             *  Lightning Blast     : D, T, Punch
             *  Hawk Attack Low     : Jump, D, Jab
             *  Hawk Attack High    : U, D + Punch
             *  Hawk Teleport       : Jump, Jab
             *  ElectroTherapy      : (in close), T, Aw, Punch
             *  Spinning Back Kick  : Aw, Kick
             *  Ground Spark Wave   : T, T, Kick
             *  Air Lightning Blast : U, T + Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Electric Death   : (in close), T, T, Aw, Punch
                *  Hawk Decapitation: U, Aw, Aw, Punch
       *  Mercury
             *  Spinning Blade Sweep: D, D, Kick + Jab
             *  Big Gooey Pounder   : (in close), Aw, T, Punch
             *  Sawblade            : Charge Aw, T, Kick
             *  Porcupine Spike     : D, D, Kick + Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Rock'em Sock'em  : (not close), T, T, Punch
                *  Ground Beef      : D, T, Jab
       *  Skullcrusher
             *  Brain Fryin' Microwave: T, T, Punch
             *  Creeping Ground Blast : T, T, Jab
             *  Choke & Thump         : Charge Aw, T, Punch
             *  Grim Dive of Death    : Charge D, U
             *  Charged Particle Blast: Aw, T, Jab
             *  Stride & Slide        : T, Kick
             *  Knife Head Butt       : (in close), Aw, T, Punch
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Fatal Grip         : (not close), T, T, Aw, Jab
                *  Head, Well Done    : Charge Aw, T, Jab
       *  Volcana
             *  Flame Blast      : D, T, Punch
             *  Fireport Behind  : D, Aw
             *  Fireport Uppercut: Charge D, U
             *  Fire Breath      : (in close), Aw, Punch
             *  Flying Firedive  : Charge Aw, T, Jab
             *  Fireroll         : (in air), T, Jab
             *  Aerial Firebomb  : (in air but not T), D + Punch
             *  Firewall         : Charge Aw, release, Kick
             *  Annihilations:
                *  Shake 'n Bake : D, T, Jab
                *  Blowtorch     : (in close), T, T, Aw, Punch
    *  Easter Eggs:
       *  Hidden Backgrounds (during background select screen):
             *  Subway Passage: *
             *  Hidden Palace : #
       *  Hidden Characters:
             *  Carbon: Must be on Hard or Killer level, one-player mode,
                "Earthquake Zone" stage, win a double perfect, perform
                Annihilation near "NO fighting--this area only". Carbon
                will be on "Subway Passage" stage.
       *  Enable speed selector option (at title screen):
             1+5+9  ("fight" confirms)
             (can select "normal" or "turbo" speed)
       *  Enable voice modem (at title screen):
             9,1,1  (emergency on phone pad)

VIRTUAL LIGHT MACHINE (VLM)
    *  Easter Eggs:
       *  Freeze Swirlies: Go to effect 9-1 (or any other hold-down-B-
          button effect). Hold down B to make the swirlies appear. Release
          B & quickly press 1-1 (or any other non-B-button effect) before
          the swirlies disappear. Return to effect 9-1 (or any other B-
          button effect). Now the swirlies are in the state/size they were
          in when you left effect 9-1. Move the joypad around & notice the
          swirlies will stay without pressing B. They will stay frozen in
          the other B-button effects. To cancel the freeze, press B.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Defender 2000.  It's on the Web.  Missile Command 3D.  It's on the Web.+
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition.  It's on the Web.  It's all on the Web!        +
                                                                                                                 +
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Jeffrey_Norwood                  +
                                                                                                                 +
Come visit it soon!                                                                                     +
                                                                                                                 +
The Jaguar Journal Web Site.  Rated AWESOME.  Now playing  using a  +
World Wide Web browser near you!                                                         +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Ted Hoff Profile
----------------
Theodore M. Hoff
President, Atari USA
 
 
 As President, Atari USA, Ted Hoff oversees all marketing, 
 sales, development, and corporate strategy for Atari 
 Corporation in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Under 
 his direction, Atari has broadened its efforts and formed a 
 new division called Atari Interactive, which develops 
 "multi-platform" interactive entertainment software for 
 consumers.
 
 Prior to joining Atari Corporation, Mr. Hoff was Senior 
 Vice President and General Manager of Fox Interactive, a 
 division of Twentieth Century Fox. During his tenure, Hoff 
 launched Fox's interactive entertainment division, 
 establishing the company's mission, structure, five-year 
 strategic and financial plans, and led the launch of 
 multiple titles based on their film and television 
 properties.
 
 From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Hoff held the key position of Senior 
 Vice President of Time Warner Interactive, Inc. (TWI), the 
 home entertainment software publishing subsidiary of Time 
 Warner, Inc. At TWI Hoff directed sales and marketing and 
 established annual and long-range strategies and financial 
 objectives.
 
 Hoff hired and directed senior staff, including directors 
 of marketing, sales, licensing and acquisition, and third 
 party publisher affiliates. Under Hoff's direction, Time 
 Warner Interactive launched 15 to 20 new titles per year 
 including arcade, theatrical, and sports licenses.
 
 Mr. Hoff's previous experience also includes senior 
 management positions at United Brands Co. and Phillip 
 Morris, where Hoff launched new products and directed 
 retail sales, marketing, and operations at both 
 corporations.
 
 Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty 
 years. Today, Atari markets Jaguar, the only American 
 made, advanced 64-Bit entertainment system. Atari 
 Corporation is located in Sunnyvale, CA.


 CONTACT: Tom Tanno or Stacy Libby
          Shandwick USA
          (800)444-6663 or (310)479-4997
 
 
 
 F A C T   S H E E T
 
 ATARI INTERACTIVE'S PREMIERE LINE-UP OF CD-ROM SOFTWARE 
 TITLES FIRST QUARTER, 1996
 
 
 ATARI INTERACTIVE:
 
 Atari Interactive, the newly created entertainment software 
 division of Atari Corporation, will develop and market 
 multi-platform interactive software for consumers. Atari 
 Interactive will create titles for a variety of platforms 
 and consoles such as Atari's Jaguar system, PC, Mac, the 
 Internet and websites. The new games will be available to 
 preview through the Atari web site on the Internet 
 (address:  http://www.atari.com).
 
 
 Four CD-ROM titles under the Atari Interactive name will be 
 available in the First Quarter. These premiere software 
 titles are:
 
 
 TEMPEST 2000:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 First developed by Atari in 1981 as an arcade game, Tempest 
 became an American video game classic. As the first 
 software title marketed by Atari Interactive, the CD 
 version of Tempest 2000 offers three games in one--an 
 enhanced version of the highly successful arcade game 
 Tempest, plus the newly created Tempest Plus and Tempest 
 Duel.
 
 The CD version of Tempest 2000 features elaborate and 
 enhanced 3-D graphics and animation, as well as a 
 CD-quality techno-rave soundtrack. Just like the classic 
 version, players on Tempest 2000 dodge Flippers, Fuseball, 
 Spikers and Pulsars. In the enhanced PC version, players 
 must also avoid AI Droids, hostile Demon heads, Mirrors and 
 Warp Bonus Tokens--all while venturing through 100 
 uncharted galaxies. Tempest 2000 can be played by one 
 person, or two players can Tempest Duel it out in 
 "PC-to-PC" competition.
 
 Price point:  $ 29.95
 
 
 HIGHLANDER:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 Popularized by the movie, television show and animated 
 series, Highlander is an action- adventure CD-ROM title 
 that allows players to become one of the world's last 
 immortals, whose destiny is to save the world.  
 Highlander's main character, Quentin MacLeod, is on a 
 mission to free his world from the grips of the mighty and 
 evil Kortan. Highlander features numerous games and 
 puzzles to help Quentin fulfill his quest.  Atari 
 Interactive has applied state-of-the-art technology to 
 create enhanced, life-like movement for Highlander's 3-D 
 characters.
 
 Price point:  $ 39.95
 
 
 BALDIES:
 ~~~~~~~~
 The software title, Baldies, gives "wannabe monarchs" a 
 chance to rule the world--a world populated by workers, 
 builders, soldiers and scientists who are, of course, bald.  
 As creators of the Baldies universe, players combine their 
 strategies with the Baldies' skills both to build an empire 
 and protect it from the enemy. Ingenious inventions and 
 creative contraptions also assist players in eliminating 
 the enemy.  Offering 100 levels--including bonus levels and 
 secret features- -across five different worlds, Baldies is 
 never the same game twice! This title also has network 
 capability which allows up to four players to enjoy the 
 game at once.
 
 
 Price point:  $34.95
 
 
 FLIPOUT!
 ~~~~~~~~
 FlipOut! offers far-out computerized puzzle games with an 
 alien twist. Players tour the bizarre Cheese Planet where 
 they encounter multiple games in 14 different areas, from 
 Mt. Rushmore to Sphorkle Diner. The game's four difficulty 
 levels--ranging from Normal to Psychotic--provide 
 challenges for players of all skills. Novice or advanced, 
 the FlipOut! player must maneuver through this wacky 
 planet's increasingly difficult puzzles without getting 
 tripped up by mischievous aliens.
 
 
 Price point:  $ 29.95
 
 # # # #


 CONTACT: Tom Tanno or Stacy Libby
          Shandwick USA
          (800)444-6663 or (310)479-4997
 
 
 ATARI REVEALS MAJOR NEW DIVISION WITH FORMATION OF
 "ATARI INTERACTIVE"
 
 New Division Dedicated to Offering "Multi-Platform" 
 Entertainment
 
 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, (CES) -- Atari Corporation, founder of 
 America's video game industry, has broadened its business 
 with the formation of Atari Interactive, a new division 
 dedicated to the development and distribution of 
 "multi-platform" interactive entertainment. Ted Hoff, 
 President, Atari USA, formally announced the company's new 
 division this week.
 
 "With the formation of Atari Interactive, we are creating a 
 new division to address the world-wide PC market," Hoff 
 stated, adding, "Atari Interactive will allow consumers to 
 receive our entertainment products on a variety of formats, 
 from existing platforms and consoles such as our own Jaguar 
 system, to PC, Mac, the Internet and websites."
 
 Over the past twenty-five years, Atari's creativity and 
 vision have led to the development of exciting and 
 successful games such as Tempest, Missile Command and 
 Crystal Castles. Now, the company will continue its 
 tradition of innovation, combined with its concern for 
 meeting consumer needs, by developing entertaining, 
 multi-platform software.
 
 Atari Interactive software will feature Atari's classic 
 arcade-style games updated to play on a number of gaming 
 environments. Interactive software enthusiasts will be 
 able to enjoy enhanced Atari classics such as Tempest 2000, 
 Missile Command 3D and Return to Crystal Castles.  In 
 addition, they can experience the robust, rich environments 
 of Atari Interactive's new games, like the Interactive 
 Rocky Horror Show and Virtual War. Atari Interactive's 
 games will be available to preview through the Atari web 
 site on the Internet (address:  http://www.atari.com).
 
 Four CD-ROM titles under the Atari Interactive name will be 
 available in the First Quarter. These premier entertainment 
 software titles are:
 
 Tempest 2000:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 An American video game classic first developed by Atari in 
 1981 as an arcade game. The CD title features elaborate 
 and enhanced 3-D graphics and animation, as well as a 
 CD-quality techno-rave soundtrack.
 
 Highlander:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 A new action-adventure CD-ROM title that allows players to 
 become Quentin MacLeod, the last immortal, known as "The 
 Highlander." As Quentin MacLeod, players encounter 
 challenging and complex puzzles in their quest to defeat 
 the evil Kortan.
 
 Baldies:
 ~~~~~~~~
 As rulers of a fictitious world populated by builders, 
 workers, soldiers and scientists (who are bald, of 
 course!), players must determine how best to employ their 
 resources to safeguard their world while at the same time 
 eliminate the enemy.  Baldies has network capability, which 
 allows up to four players to enjoy the game at once, 
 delivering four times the fun!
 
 FlipOut!:
 ~~~~~~~~~
 Players maneuver their way through fourteen different areas 
 of The Cheese Planet while trying to solve increasingly 
 difficult puzzles (levels range from Normal to Psychotic!).  
 Whether they are in Mt. Rushmore or the Sphorkle Diner, 
 players need to keep an eye out for mischievous aliens 
 who'll trip them up just for the fun of it.
 
 The introduction of these games is only the beginning for 
 Atari Interactive. Additional titles currently under 
 development will be available throughout 1996. In 
 discussing Atari Interactive's games, Hoff explained, "The 
 introductory titles by Atari Interactive are designed to 
 appeal to long-time fans of classic arcade games who want a 
 different, or perhaps new medium in which to play those 
 games, as well as novice players eager to test-drive this 
 entertainment form on their PC. By offering game 
 enthusiasts more access options to superior products, we 
 have enhanced their opportunity for convenient, exciting 
 and challenging entertainment."
 
 # # # #


    By Jim Carlton 
    Dow Jones Staff Reporter 
  
  SUNNYVALE, Calif. -DJ- Atari Corp. (ATC), moving to diversify beyond 
a floundering video-game system called Jaguar, is starting a new business to 
deploy games for personal computers. 
  In launching the business under a new division called Atari Interactive, which 
is to be announced tomorrow, the video-game pioneer said it will draw 
heavily on its library of 1980s-vintage video games such as Asteroids and 
Pac Man. Atari said it will update those games with three-dimensional 
graphics and stereo sound to run on the latest generation of high-powered 
PCs. Atari launched the U.S.'s video game industry in about 1980, but lost 
the market to competitors such as Nintendo Co. and Sega Enterprises Ltd. 
  ''We have a 25-year library of video game titles and we want to put some of 
those games on the PC,'' Ted Hoff, president of Atari's North American 
operations, told Dow Jones. 
  The PC foray comes as Atari's advanced Jaguar player struggles against 
competing players by Nintendo, Sega, Sony Corp. (SNE) and 3DO Co. 
(THDO). Hobbled by a dearth of support from independent software 
developers, only about 200,000 of the Jaguars have been sold world-wide 
since the machine was launched in 1993. 
  By contrast, analysts estimate Sony sold about 500,000 of its new 
PlayStation machines since their launch in the U.S. last September. A recent 
report by Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., a market research firm in New 
York, concludes that ''Jaguar's prospects for success are quite bleak.'' 
  Hoff said Atari continues to stand by Jaguar and added the player should 
benefit by a recent price cut to $99 from $149, as well as an expanded 
number of games to about 50 from four at the machine's launch. By the end 
of the first quarter, Hoff said about 16 more Jaguar games will be out. 
  Atari's real prospect for growth, Hoff added, is in producing games for PCs 
which now reside in more than 10 million U.S. homes. Of the first four PC 
games being released during the current quarter, Hoff said one is a remake of 
the old Atari game Tempest. The other three, Highlander, Baldies and 
FlipOut!, are new titles. A total of 17 PC games will be shipped this year, 
Hoff said. Atari plans PC games soon based on other of its old games, 
including Missile Command and Crystal Castles. Updated versions of 
Asteroids, Pac Man and Centipede will be available next year. 
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-02-96
   3:56 PM

Copyright 1996 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.


The Jaguar Journal Web-Site Directory
----------------------------------------

The Jaguar Journal Web Site         
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/hompages/Jeffrey Norwood

Atari Corporation Web Site
http://www.atari.com

Extreme
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/_extreme


Atari Interactive Shocks Jaguar Owners; What's Next?
by Jeffrey Norwood

	Atari has been in the video gaming business for almost twenty-five
years.  Of course, they have also marketed their own computers, such as
the ST.  Unfortunately, witht he exception of the Atari 2600, the hardware
Atari markets just doesn't sell!  The Atari Jaguar has about 200,000 units out
wolrd-wide, while the Sony Playstation, out on the market now for five 
months, has sold an estimated 500,000 units (acutal numbers are around
300,000) in the U.S. alone.  Look at the ratio -- 200,000/25 months 
compared to 300,000/5 months.  That means Atari averaged out to sales of
8,000 Jaguars a month, while Sony has an average of 60,000 a month.  Sega
is also doing well, and Nintendo's Super NES is selling an average of 6-
7,000 units a month -- more than 4 years after it's release!
	But what does this mean for Atari Jaguar owners?  Atair is investing
their company into "multi-platform" market.  In the first half of the year, Atari
will market four new titles for the PC to 10,000,000 people.  In the second
half, Atari will broaden even more into Macs, Sony, and Sega platforms, and
just bring the ports over TO the Jaguar.  Great for Atari; but it plain SUCKS
for us.
	Ted Hoff indicates 16 new titles will be released in the first quarter 
this year for the Jaguar, including four or five third parties.  But that means
there is nine titles left for the rest of the Jaguar's 1996 year, and just as 
simple, the rest of the Jaguar's life!
	This is too bad, but we will have to live with it.  Do we switch into
another platform ourselves?  I don't have the money too, and I love my 
Jaguar.  But how can we support a system that doesn't support us?  Only
time will tell, and The Jaguar Journal will remain until the Atari Jaguar's life
can be titled "dead".

Coming in the February edition of The Jaguar Journal:

** The 1995 Year End Awards results.  The ballot is enclosed in the ZIP'd
file.
** The transcript of the telephone interview with Ted Hoff.  Send your 
questions to my e-mail address (74447,531) and they will be asked.
** Reviews of the new titles and games that were not available to us for
review this month.

Thanks for reading.
