Despite my going back to school, and all that effecting my time I have for writing, the GamePro recaps continue with issue #46 for May of 1993. We have another Sports issue. Our Editorial this issue also discusses the violence in video games debate, with the general advice being that the onus for protecting kids from violent content lies in the hands of parents. However, as game ratings only exist on the Genesis, and they’re not necessarily consistent, I have to say that this advice isn’t as reasonable, but that’s just me.

Letters: Not much this issue. We get letters about playing as the bosses in the SNES version of Street Fighter II, people applauding the Sega CD, and people complaining about the grainy video on the Sega CD.

Hot at the Arcades: We have a Looney Tunes arcade game that didn’t get a home release, and Creature From The Black Lagoon licenced pinball table.

The Cutting Edge: This issue we have coverage of the VVS. It’s a TV, in a pair of glasses! Yeah… they’re still working on this and it’s still clunky as hell.

Out Of This World Guide: We get a short excerpt of a strategy guide for Out Of This World from the book “Awesome Super Nintendo Secrets”. I’m skipping this for, basically, the same reason that I don’t recap the cheats section. If you want to know the cheats, that’s what GameFAQs is for.

Ecco The Dolphin Guide: Same sort of thing as the last article in the magazine.

Nintendo Coverage: We have a review of Joe & Mac from Data East, which is generally average, and gets a 3.5 for Fun Factor, and 3s for Graphics, Sound, & Control. LJN also has The Incredible Crash Dummies, which gets an identical score. We also get a preview of Battletoads vs. Double Dragon.

Genesis Coverage: We have a review of Sega’s X-Men game, which unfortunately has no continues, and no passwords, which is a big minus for me. They really like it though – though the sound is kind of subdued. The game gets a 4 for Sound, and 5s for Graphics, Control & Fun Factor. There’s also a review of James Bond: The Duel from Domark (a publisher I’ve never heard of before). They’re not too found of the sound and they comment that the sprites appear too small, and they give the game a 3.5 for Sound and 4s for Graphics, Control & Fun Factor. There’s also a review of the 16-bit version of Batman: Revenge of the Joker, from Sunsoft, which is a slightly up-rezed version of the NES game, and gets docked for that (getting 3s across the board). We also have a review of Blaster Master 2 from Sunsoft, which still doesn’t have a password option or a save system. The game gets 4.5s for Graphics & Sound, and 5s for Control & Fun Factor.

We also have a review of Taito’s Flintstones game, which has some slowdown problems and control problems, and gets a 4 for Fun Factor, and 3.5s for everything else. Renovation has a new fantasy shump in Element Master, which gets 4s for Graphics, Control, & Fun Factor, and a 4.5 for Sound. There’s also The Humans, which is a semi-Lemmings clone, with a few elements of Larry Gonick’s work as well. The game scores decently – it gets a 4.5 for Fun Factor, a 3 for Control, and 3.5s for Graphics & Sound. There’s also EA’s clone of Ghouls & Ghosts, titled Risky Woods, which gets a 3.5 for Control, and 4s for Graphics, Sound & Fun Factor. Mindscape has the Road Warrior-esque action game Outlander, which has some graphics and control problems, but not enough to hurt it worse than a mediochre score, giving it a 3 for Control, and 3.5s for everything else. There’s also a preview of Jungle Strike.

Sega CD Coverage: We have a review of C&C Music Factory: Make My Video. Ahh, the early 90s, when people thought old, disused foundaries were good places to shoot music videos – though to be fair, there were a lot of them available. The “game” gets 5s for Graphcis & Sound, and 4.5s for Control & Fun Factor. We also have a preview of Final Fight CD.

Sports Guide: No strategy guide stuff here to start, just previous review scores for various games. We do get a few new reviews though. We have a review for John Madden Football: Championship Edition, which gets a 4 for Sound and 5s for everything else. We also have an interview with JD Williams of the Buffalo Bills, which mainly focuses on the Madden games. On the basketball front, we have a review of Bulls vs. Blazers, which gets a 5 for Fun Factor and 4s for everything else, and which doesn’t have a lot of name-dropping of the Blazers. We had more players than Clyde Drexler back then! On the Diamond we have an interview with Roger Clemens about Roger Clemens MVP Baseball – apparently the idea of lending his name to the game was his kids idea.

SNES Coverage: We have a review of Batman Returns, which is a brawler, but a nice looking one – which gets 5s across the board. We also have a review of Bubsy, which gets faulted because of the use of inertia in the game, so it gets a 4.5 for Control and 5s for Graphics, Sound & Fun Factor. We also have a review of the action RPG Equinox. They really like it and give it 5s across the board. We also have a review of Wayne’s World, featuring the digitized likeness of Michael Meyers, and which comes out rather mediochre, getting 3s for Sound & Control, and 3.5s for Graphics & Fun Factor. There’s a review of the rather bland fighting game Doomsday Warrior, which gets 3s for Sound & Fun Factor, and 3.5s for Graphics & Control.

There’s a Taz-Mania semi-racing game, which gets a 3 for Sound, a 4 for Control, a 4.5 for Graphics, and a 5 for Fun Factor. Kemco has the slasher/platformer First Samurai, which gets a 4.5 for Fun Factor, and 4s for everything else, though they mention specifically that the music tends to grate. There’s a review of Pushover, another Lemmings clone, which gets a 4 for Fun Factor, and 3.5s for everything else. There’s also a review of the action game Dream Probe, which looks pretty interesting. The game gets a 5 for Control, a 4 for Sound, and 4.5s for Graphics & Fun Factor. There’s also a review of Family Dog, a platformer based on the cartoon show. They find the game fun, but the scores they give it are very middle-of-the road, giving it a 3 for Control and 3.5s for everything else. There’s also a review of Koei’s business simulator Aerobiz. The game gets a 3 for Sound, a 4.5 for Control, and 4s for Graphics & Fun Factor.

TurboDuo Coverage: We have a review of Terraforming, featuring mechanical designes by Syd Mead. That’s pretty cool. I’m surprised I’d never heard of this, particularly the last time I was looking up Syd Mead’s stuff. The game looks pretty cool too, though apparently some of the music is pretty iffy. The game gets 4s for Sound & Control, and 5s for Graphics & Fun Factor. We also have a preview of Bonk 3, which is coming out as both a CD-Rom game and as a chip, depending on your preference.

Neo-Geo Coverage: We get a preview of Sengoku II.

Overseas Prospects: We get a preview of the steampunk mecha shump Cyber Aleste: Nobunaga And His Ninja Force. Ooohhh-kay. There’s also a preview of SimAnt.

The Sports Page: We have a review of Mutant League Football for the Genesis. The game gets a 5 for Graphics, and 4s for everything else. There’s also a review of Best Of The Best Kickboxing from Electro Brain, which doesn’t do so hot – it gets 3s for Sound & Control, and 3.5s for Graphics & Fun Factor. The NES is getting George Foreman’s KO Boxing from Acclaim, which doesn’t do so well – it gets a 2.5 for Sound, a 3 for Control, a 3.5 for Fun Factor, and a 4 for Graphics. There’s also Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour for the Game Boy, which does get a pretty good score. It gets a 3.5 for Sound, and 4.5s for everything else. We also get a feature on EA Sports.

Game Boy Coverage: We have a review of Spot: The Cool Adventures, which gets generally decent scores, in keeping with the other Spot platformers. The game gets a 3 for Sound and 4s for everything else. There’s also Battleship, based on the board game, which gets a 4.5 for Control and 4s for everything else. Takara’s got Cool Ball, which I’m not sure how you play, but it gets a 2 for Sound, a 3 for Graphics, and 4s for Control & Fun Factor. Capcom has Tale Spin, which adapts the show into a shump, but one that’s decent, getting 4s across the board.

Game Gear Coverage: We have a review of Spider Man: The Revenge of the Sinister Six, which they find to be a pretty good port, and which gets a 3.5 for Control, and 4s for Graphics, Control, and Fun Factor.

Lynx Coverage: The Lynx is getting Pit Fighter, which looks horrible to me, but they apparently like – it gets a 5 for Graphics, 4.5s for Sound & Fun Factor, and a 4 for Control.

Short Shots: Of note this issue is Arcus Odyssey for the SNES, Stellar 7 for the Sega CD, and Kirby’s Adventure for the NES.

Game Busters: We get the ending cutscene for Prince Of Persia this issue.

ProNews: Hasbro is putting out Street Fighter action figures, with, for example, Ryu using a rocket launcher. Bwhuh?! Anyway, SSI’s Eye of the Beholder series is also getting ported to home consoles.

That wraps up this issue, tomorrow I’m gong to have a review of the period gangster film Hoodlum, starring Lawrence Fishburn.