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Retro Arcade Game Review: Speculator

February 18th, 2012

“At 6:49 A.M. CST, Hong Kong Gold reports are that gold is weaker against the U.S. Dollar.” You hurriedly phone your broker and put in an order to sell gold “short” (that is, sell gold that you don’t have at present on the assumption that you can purchase it at a lower price before you have to “deliver”). In SPECULATOR, you get a chance to interpret news reports and estimate their effect on market conditions. Unlike many simulations which reflect price changes over weekly or monthly periods, SPECULATOR practically puts you in the pit. It simulates “real time” trading with a scale of 1 minute of playing time equal to 6 minutes of “real time.” The graphics even allow you the privilege of watching your broker answer the phone and view the floor broker moving to the appropriate post to execute your order on the floor of the exchange.

The realism used in this simulation is remarkable.

One is able to buy at the current market value; buy below the market value using an MIT. (Market if Touched – becomes an active market order when a certain price is reached) order; sell at a pre-arranged MIT. order; sell at a given price OB (Or Better – will sell at a given price or higher price); sell short; use a spread order (simultaneous selling and buying of related contracts which are related to one another); using GTC (Good till Cancelled – order remains with the specialist on the floor of the exchange until a certain price or contingency is reached), OCO (One Cancels Other – an offsetting mechanism where if one part of the order is filled, the other part is cancelled) orders; and having the flexibility to execute orders at the immediate beginning of the trading session (On Open) or at the end of the session (On Close).

The effect of all these options (though they are not all immediately available to the first level or “novice” player and must be earned as a performance bonus as the player improves to “Speculator” and “Floor Trader”) is to give the player a more intimate understanding of the mechanics of futures markets. It also seems to allow the player feel more “in charge” of the situation because he is able to communicate EXACT conditions for investment.

It’s also a multi-player simulation and one of the few “realistic” simulations based on actual market conditions to allow this. TYCOON reflects actual market conditions and an excellent degree of realism, but only 1 investor can compete within the same market environment. In SPECULATOR, up to 6 players can compete at the same time. This feature also presents a problem, however. It is very difficult for more than 1 player to use the keyboard at the same time. When the market is about to open, there is only 1 minute to enter “On Open” orders whether there is 1 player or 6. Further, since the market keeps on moving, even when 1 player is in transaction mode, there is an inherent advantage in entering one’s orders first. The scaled “real time” is a vital ingredient to the feeling of being there within the simulation, but either there needs to be some other way of providing input from the players than from the keyboard or there ought to be a feature which allows the “freezing” of the “real time” until all players may enter their orders.

Another important factor is the data disk. Because the events, contingencies, and price fluctuations are geared to an actual 45 day profile of market conditions on three different exchanges (Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Commodity Exchange), there is a significant correlation between what May orange juice does the first time you play the game and what May orange juice does every other time you play the game. In order to circumvent this tendency toward sameness.

Software plans to market several different data disks to reflect different market histories. These will be a welcome addition to the game, since it will keep the game fresh and playable. In spite of the fact that SPECULATOR allows the investor to play much closer to the market than its closest competitor, TYCOON.

It is harder to be a fundamentalist in SPECULATOR, however, since one only has a 30 day history chart to work from where TYCOON offered annual histories of each commodity in graph form. It is easier to be a technician in SPECULATOR; however, since one may place a buy-sell order immediately after news which will affect the basic supply and demand for the commodity hits the ticker. For example, you read that meteorologists predict a severe winter on the east coast (not an actual event). This indicates that there could be a freeze in Florida which would reduce the supply of orange juice. Reduced supply means increased demand which means higher futures prices. Therefore, you want to buy orange juice futures before anyone else can. In TYCOON, there is a definite advantage to following the news, but the price fluctuation has already begun by the time the player reads about it. In SPECULATOR, the player has to move in a hurry before he loses out on the advantage which the news gives him/her.

SPECULATOR is the first investment program I’ve seen which eclipses the fine line of Blue Chip Software investment simulations in tutorial value. The two books of documentation which are packaged with the program (the Game Manual which explains everything from booting the program to how to place an order and the Market Reference Guide – which explains everything from the size of a contract to factors that influence prices) are understandable and make a valuable resource for perusing the financial pages and/or publications distributed by brokerage houses. Between the two booklets, almost any conceivable order is defined from both the perspective of real trading and playing the game.

SPECULATOR compares favourably with any other investment simulation on the market to date. It is competitively priced for the basic game and should be an especially worthwhile investment with the addition of new data disks. I look forward to the projected release of a stock market simulation in the near future.

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Retro Arcade Game Review: Planet Fall

January 31st, 2012

Planet fall is a text adventure game that begins with you, a lowly ensign, scrubbing the decks of the Stellar Patrol Ship Feinstein. Your life has never seemed worse, and your future looks very bleak, boring, and uneventful. Right about this time your ship is rocked by an explosion.

In order to save your life you rush to the nearest escape pod and are jettisoned out into space. By using your wits, you are able to ride the escape pod down to the nearest inhabited planet. There you are marooned on one of two islands on the planet.

Your mission, besides finding food and a safe place to sleep, is to get rescued from the planet. But your first order of business is survival. Finding a safe place to sleep is not difficult but you must find food before your emergency ration kit runs out. Once you have the food supply and know where it’s safe to sleep you can begin your real adventure (Watch out! In this adventure you can even get sick and dream while you sleep.)

On the island you will find two huge deserted complexes which must be mapped.

In your wandering through the first complex you will meet a robot named Floyd. In the beginning, Floyd might be a nuisance because of his incessant babbling, but as you have probably already guessed he plays an important part in the completion of the game. Floyd’s interaction is a very unique concept in this game. It adds animation to the game without relying on graphics. (In certain parts of the complex I had already mapped I found myself hurrying through the rooms.

As this left Floyd far behind, I ended up slowing down to wait for Floyd to catch up.) There are more than 100 rooms in Planet fall and each one has its own very detailed description. Part of the enjoyment to these games is just reading these descriptions. I found myself wanting to know more about the complex – why for example, it was deserted, and where all the people went.

The puzzles in Planet fall involve special access cards, tools, and the fixing of machines that have broken down. I found the solutions to be logical with just enough depth to give me problems but not enough to cause me aggravation. The documentation is almost as enjoyable as the game itself. With the software you get a diary, post cards, an I.D. card, and a manual. The diary looks hand written and is on Stellar Patrol letterhead, it tells about a few days of the Ensign’s boring life. The post cards are very funny. The manual as always should be read carefully. Often the problems you run into throughout the game can be made easier with the help of some clues or explanations from the manual.

For those of you that are text game or Info COM fanatics this is another excellent adventure to add to your collection. The addition of Floyd the robot as your partner is a unique boost to the interactive nature of these games and I hope to see more of this type of creative innovation in future games. For those of you who have never played these types of games before, Planet fall would be a good place to start.

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How Can Playing Arcade Games Be Dangerous?

January 30th, 2012

Buckner & Garcia sang the song “Pac-Mac Fever” in the 1980s with lyric “I got a pocket packed with quarters, and I’m going to the arcade games”. Today, gobbling up quarters continues to be machines’ major job from time to time or more at a time and they work even better than Pac-Mac can take in those pac-dots. Usually we don’t realize how quickly the quarters add up or simply how much we are actually spending. You cannot resist but letting the young enjoy themselves on a ride or a game. How to avoid having to spend an hour each week for overtime work to cover the snacks you have had in the company break room.

 

First of all, have knowledge of how much you’re spending. From time to time treating your kids to a coin operated ride at a local mall or getting yourself a snack from a junk food machine won’t hurt you wallet, but if you allow your kid to ride every ride every time you pass it or you buy three drinks from the work snack machine every single day, you are probably wasting more than you realize.

Bring only enough change (or dollar bills) to make planned purchases, and avoid the change-making machines.

 

Keep away from bubble-gum devices that dispense toys. The toys are regularly discouraging, and you could be influenced to continue to feed quarters into the device till your son or daughter gets the one she’d like. Most likely, these toys are dumped swiftly.

 

Look for coupons before going, and use them. Visit once the games center isn’t busy to maximise fun for young kids. You may enjoy 1 hour of family amusement for a few bucks, and you may also get some bubble-gum machine toys as part of the package.

 

Take into account options. If you’re a true aficionado of the particular video game (or arcade games generally), you may in fact spend much less if you buy yourself a game for home – whether or not it’s an authentic arcade game or a game system with a number of games is up to you. With your own arcade game, you can always have the high score! The same idea relates to food vending machines. If you find yourself frequently paying a lot on food or beverages from vending machines, buy yourself a supply of treats or sodas to take along to work or school. Those personal snack bags are more affordable at the grocery store or wholesale club, and a large bag is actually less expensive yet.

 

Quarters accumulate, the game industry makes .1 billion in proceeds, based on the web site of BMI Gaming, a company that sells coin-operated machines. The next time you’re lured to invest a pocket packed with quarters on anything, take the time to stop and think first. That arcade game or vending device may give you a quarter’s worth of leisure, but you could be better saving those quarters for something you will appreciate far more.

 

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Retro Arcade Game Review: Squire

January 25th, 2012

“I’m tired of playing this game. It doesn’t have anything to do with reality!” If you’ve ever felt that way about financial strategy games, you’ve never played any of Blue Chip Software’s simulations. Each new program reflects more and more sophisticated investment mechanisms. SQUIRE is another step up from MILLIONAIRE and its fascinating cousins, TYCOON and BARON.

However, where MILLIONAIRE only allowed investments in the stock market, TYCOON only allowed investments in commodities, and BARON only allowed investments in real estate, SQUIRE recognizes that the astute investor uses more than one medium of financial manipulation and needs a balance of investments to be successful. Therefore, SQUIRE uses a combination of the three former games and then some. In addition to common stocks, commodities, and real estate, the investor is now allowed to invest in bonds, collectibles, money market accounts, IRA’s, oil and gas exploration, and cattle feeding.

The latter three items are extremely significant from a tax shelter perspective and one of the important features of SQUIRE is the necessity of being sensitive to tax liability and how to reduce it.

Further, SQUIRE has a “reality mode” option which allows “player-investors to input their actual investments, income needs, and interim goals in order to test their financial planning against several of SQUIRE’s market environments. Once again, Blue Chip has given us a tutorial, as well as a game. Friends of the other Blue Chip family simulations will be comfortable with the format of SQUIRE. It features the same basic sequence of general graph (of the economy), Financial News summary, price change summary, historical graphs, and command mode. It has added a retirement status bar graph to aid the player’s evaluation of his/her investment strategy’s performance. There is also an improvement in the game mechanics. It appears that the Financial News, while still important, is not as easily interpreted or functional as in MILLIONAIRE or TYCOON.

This was the only flaw in TYCOON, since an astute player could tell exactly what was going to happen from the concentrated bits and pieces of the news. Instead of giving the player more “red herrings” to choose from Zuber has chosen to give the player less overt indicators. This adds rather than subtracts from the realism.

Those who enjoy playing BARON and are amused by the unexpected events, which make one both chuckle and groan at the same time, will be pleased to note that they are also in SQUIRE. After all, one can’t foresee every emergency in planning for one’s financial future, can one? The strategies which may be found useful in the other simulations are workable in SQUIRE, but one must also keep a wary eye on the tax liability. It is possible to make sound investments in SQUIRE and still lose money, due to the tax burden. One should be particularly aware of the tax advantages of cattle feeding and oil and gas exploration before playing the game. The tax information alone is eye-opening enough to make playing the simulation worthwhile.

SQUIRE is an excellent simulation within a series of excellent simulations. As a game, it is slower moving than TYCOON and MILLIONAIRE, but faster paced than BARON. It still suffers from the solitaire nature of the game, but is as much a learning experience as a game. Those who have enjoyed the other titles in this series will enjoy SQUIRE.

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A Brief Background Of Arcade Games

January 8th, 2012

Arcade games are coin operated electronic machines that can often be found in family restaurants, hotel game rooms, and other public places. They’ve been around since the early twenties and are either one of three types. Redemption games, which rewards the player with coins or tickets, merchandisers, machines filled with small toys and other prizes, and video games, for which the only reward is being memorialized on the high score screen.

These type of games have historically featured simple controls, and very short levels which rapidly increase in difficulty. This is because of the atmosphere that they are traditionally found in. In the crowded hotel and mall game rooms, players are essentially renting the particular arcade game they are playing. The short and difficult levels ensures that the user either leaves the machine and gives someone else a chance to play or pumps more quarters in to extend their own.

The very first arcade type games could be found on amusement park midways of the 1920s. These included carnival type shooting games and coin operated fortune tellers. In the early thirties, these devices were joined by the highly popular electronic pinball machines. Unlike their predecessors, these games were made out of wood and featured mechanized scoring.

In 1966, a company called Sega introduced the first electro-mechanical arcade game. It was a submarine simulator and featured a gun shaped controller and colorful lights and sounds. It cost one quarter to play and quickly became a huge sensation in North America and Japan. A few years later the same gaming company released a new one based on combat flight simulators. It consisted of a more advanced gun, moving targets, and was the first arcade game to feature a joystick.

The world’s first coin operated game was invented and built by a group of students at Stanford University. It was called the Galaxy Game and was a based on a similar computer game called Spacewar. The first mass produced arcade game was released to the public just a few months later.

In 1972 the electronic and gaming corporation, Atari, was formed and revitalized the video gaming industry with their state of the art ping pong game. The product’s incredible success sparked waves of imitations from competing brands and, in the mid seventies, the various games began springing up in malls and restaurants all over the country.

It was around this time in which the golden age of video arcade games took place. By then, video and gaming technology was so sophisticated that just about every electronics company was able to saturate the market with games featuring high quality graphics and sounds. Although, products that came out in later years were much more advanced, it is always the games from this era that are the most collected and prized.

By the mid eighties, the device’s popularity began to decline as they competed with home consoles. The video arcades were no longer the most advanced gaming systems and most consumers found renting a game to be much cheaper than playing it’s arcade version for fifteen minutes. Despite this, today the classic arcade machines are highly prized collectibles.

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The Great 80′s Arcade Games

January 4th, 2012

Arcade games have become so famous in the year 1980′s. Mostly, the games that are present today are just the enhanced version of the games that were created before.

During that time, many enjoyed the arcade games. There are so many arcade games in the 80′s that are still famous until now.

Here are some of the most famous arcade games of the 80′s:

• Battlezone (Atari Inc) it was the first arcade that feature 3D environment. The citizens of the US were so impressed about this particular game.

In fact, the Armed Forces of United States got the idea of tanks training from this particular arcade.

• Berserk (Universal Research Laboratory) was the first game with speaking characters. The people became so curious about this game. DEvelopment costs were really expensive, because of the digitalization of 30 words!
And in fact many games on the market today are just expanded versions of this old arcade game.

• Defender (Williams Electronics) it was a member of VIDEOTOPIA and was made by Eugene Jarvis.

It was the first arcade game that has made a great hit among the games produced by Williams Electronics.

It became so famous because of being the first arcade game featuring an artificial world. The game can be presented on the outside view as the player plays the game.

• Pac-Man (Bally/Midway) this particular game is still famous this present time. There are many versions of this game, people love playing it repeatedly.

The concept of this game is from a Japanese Folktale, it became so famous in Japan making a yen shortage. It also hit the biggest market in US.

It has become the cover of Time Magazine and appeared on the Saturday-Morning cartoon. It does not only capture the Gaming world but the music industry as well. Songs are made because of its existence.

• Missile Command (Atari Inc) another great creation of Atari aside from the famous Battlezone. It was originally called Armageddon. It caught the attention of many people of the US because it features a clear reflection of the nuclear conflict in the US. It became so famous that more than 100 arcade games were created.

• Gorf (Bally/Midway) a very different shoot and slide game compared to other games. It was the first games to offer different environment on stage-by-stage presentation. It is also one of the talking arcade games.

• Donkey Kong (Nintendo Ltd.) it was one among the first arcade games with whimsical storyline. It is a story about a giant ape that became curious on a female human. It is also named “Jumpman” which is now known by the name of Mario.

• Centipede (Atari Inc) the first arcade game designed by a woman. It was the first colorful arcade that attracts more female players than male arcade players.

• Tempest (Atari Inc) it was the first game produced by Atari that features color vector display. It also features 3D graphics and was inspired by the dream of the designer.

• Quantum (Atari Inc) it was designed by an outside company, which was based on the quantum mechanics.

• Star Wars (Atari Inc) it also became so famous in the US. It also Feature 3D environment and characters as well.

It originally uses a joystick; one among the first arcade games which uses it.

These are the famous arcade games of the 80′s. If you want to get hold of the above classic games, you can try visiting some websites that offer download of these classic games.

Have fun and enjoy the gaming adventure!

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Arcade Phase Hulk Games Games

December 18th, 2011

Hulk games appeared in 2003 as an answer to the movie having the same name. The game was created by Radical Entertainment. The idea of the game doesn’t follow exactly the movie but is much funnier and more entertaining.

The game starts with a dream where a man transforms into a big monster with strong powers, Hulk. He can destroy armies of soldiers and tanks. When the man wakes up, he asks explanations to his doctor who tells the man he is the one who created the monster. The man, Bruce will sneak into the lab of the doctor and he will find out hear different tips about the monster. The man touches different things and this way he gains several powers. The idea of the movie goes on with several tramps and includes even Alcatraz, which is being occupied by the army.

The game is great because presents many innovative ideas like gamma rays used in detection devices or different robots. Even nowadays the game is still considered a great innovation and Wii games and 3D games didn’t stop to appear. This game stimulates the imagination of children and the reviews are showing people of all ages are spending nights just to play the game. Hulk creates addiction and it cannot be treated easily. Even problems were encountered at children who thought they are Hulk and started missing classes.

The game was very expensive at the beginning but slowly it appeared online on different versions. Make sure you use trusted online sites, otherwise you may end up with viruses and spending a lot of money in fixing your computer.

You can even join special sites where you pay a minimum amount of money every month but al least you know you are protected. These sites will help you get in touch with other Hulk game players and you can share different tips and ideas.

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Retro Arcade Game Review: The Railroad Works

December 17th, 2011

The major trend in model railroading over the past few decades has been toward smaller and smaller scales, reflecting the increasingly cramped quarters most of us inhabit. The Railroad Works (TRW) from CBS Software takes this trend about as far as it can go, compressing an entire model railroad construction kit into the space of a floppy disk. We might call this “binary gauge”. Some severe design compromises were necessary to compress the three-dimensional world of model trains into the two-dimensional environment of the computer display screen. Nevertheless, this is a solidly crafted and highly entertaining product.

The best entertainment software usually combines elements of creative imagination with the competitive play features of hand-eye coordination and reaction time. TRW is extremely flexible in this respect. You can create your own model train layout from scratch, and operate for the sheer joy of going “chow-chow”, or you can call up a ready-made array of track and scenery from the disk, and play for points as you race to deliver boxes of software, tanks of water, cattle and carloads of passengers.

On the 48K Apple version, the program has an unusually long loading time.

Your wait is rewarded with a nice bit of music an opening menu prompts you to select joystick, mouse or keyboard cursor control. You really need a joystick or mouse, the keyboard is too slow. The main menu selections include: Construct, Operate, Play Game, Save, Load, Clear Layout and Change Engine and Cars. To construct a layout, you move the cursor to lay track, position scenery and locate your factories, depot water tanks and similar economic assets. The C-64 version has a richer selection of scenery and graphics. Any layout you create can be named, saved to disk and later recalled.

The trains themselves can only be described as cute. You have a choice of 19th Century steam or modern diesel-electric locomotives and corresponding freight, tank, cattle and passenger cars. Throttle control and switching are handled very nicely. You select the engine throttle icon, which gives you a throttle display indicator at the bottom of the screen. You then use the joystick to move between Reverse, Stop and Forward. Your locomotive, and everything attached, moves as you command. To throw a switch, you position the cursor at the junction of two tracks and click the joystick button. Loading and unloading cargo is accomplished in the same way, with some very clever animation effects. For example, to unload freight cars a tiny fork lift truck comes out and carries away boxes.

By selecting the map icon, you can view a schematic layout of all twelve screens, with the depots and the current locations of your two trains indicated. Collisions are possible, but utterly harmless. The trains just stop, there are no derailments in binary gauge.

TRW is not a complete simulation of railroading, or even of model railroading, but it is great fun. It is a creative, non-violent entertainment. The C-64 and IBM versions are rather better than the Apple version. Younger users may need a bit of help and encouragement before they get the hang of moving among the many options and functions. Boot up, and all aboard!

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Retro Arcade Game Review: The Alpine Encounter

December 16th, 2011

The Alpine Encounter is a graphics adventure game, the first in IBIDS VODAC Adventure Series. Some background information, as well as a telegram from your boss, Freedman, awaits you as you open the box.

You learn that, at the Peking Imperial Museum, two people broke in and stole a vase dating back to the first Ming Dynasty. While, six thousand miles away at a military installation in the Rockies, a second pair of men snuck into a secured portion of the base, broke open a large military safe and removed a large blue envelope, stencilled with “Stealth Missile”. The men escaped from the room of the installation in a helicopter.

Then you are brought back to the present with the following message from your boss.

You, Agent 456, must immediately fly to ALPENBERG and check in at the Ski Resort. You are then to contact Agent 487 regarding VODAC involvement in a conspiracy which would give VODAC world domination. Agent 487 is operating under cover as an exchange student at the resort. You have only twelve hours to complete your mission.

As you boot your disk, you find yourself standing in front of the Ski Resort. First check in at the front desk. Otherwise you will not be able to wander through the hotel in search of clues (the hotel premises are only available to paying guests). At various times throughout the game, you will come in contact with the main characters. When you meet them be friendly and ask them questions. For, only by interviewing the characters can you hope to find the clues, solve the mystery, and foil VODAC. To get more background, you might want to go to the hotels’ newsstand and buy a paper.

After you search (map) the hotel, you probably will want to try your skill at the animated skiing sequence (you do need to ski to complete the game). There are a beginners and an expert slope (you can choose either one at the beginning of the run). This was a nice change of pace which was made additionally interesting by the fact that you are being shot at while skiing down the slope.

A short distance down the ski slope, you will arrive at the ski chalet. You can either ski there or be carried there for medical services like I did (I didn’t get too far down the mountain before I crashed into a tree). Search the ski chalet and pay particular attention to the radio room.

A nice feature in this game is that your interaction with the characters will affect in some ways the plot line. The changes appear subtle, and tend to change the timing of certain events, but it gives the story a little of the uncertainty found in real life.

An intermediate level game, The Alpine Encounter has detailed graphics similar to other current graphic adventure games. The animated ski sequence fit well into the story line. I especially liked the character interaction and the ability of either you or the character(s) to follow each other around. It sometimes felt as if there was more than just a computer behind the scenes controlling the action.

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Arcade Phase Pool Games Games

December 6th, 2011

The history of pool games started a long time ago. This type of game has been played for a long time by kings and gentlemen. Actually, the game developed from the sport called croquet. In time, the game became to be played indoor, on a wooden table with a green cloth in order to copy the grass.

After 1600, the game became to be very popular among many noble people, the game being mentioned even in the stories of Shakespeare. In 18th century the first rules of pool were published in a book. Thus, the dimensions were fixed, for sticks, table and balls. Details about the number and the colors of the game were also established.

Now, some players are very famous and their picture appears even on cigarette packages. There are several strategies of playing, in offense and in defense. Offensive pool is the method of trying to pock the ball. The defensive method is when you can’t pock the ball and you leave the other player with no shot on his object balls. You can opt for your own strategy in combining these two in a personalized way. Don’t forget to chalk the tip of the cue stick, is pretty essential. The main reason of doing this is to have a good impact among the cue tip and the cue object ball. Without chalking, you can hit the ball in the wrong spot.

If you are a beginner, don’t worry because you can advance much faster than you ever thought. There are several free online games games.

Choose some trusted sites and start playing. There are even tables for beginners to help them familiarize with the game. Some internet games are very interesting, helping you to combine learning with having fun. Pool or billiard is an addictive game and some people are making big money because of this.

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