Cybermage poster

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Pix

This is another random item from the collection, a double-sided poster for Cybermage. It’s small in stature being around A3 size, but big on hyperbole proudly proclaiming “Better than Underworld II, better than System Shock, way way better than Doom.” That would be a bold statement for any game but to be fair it’s a magazine quote saving Origin from any false marketing claims. The Strategy Plus reviewer must have truly loved this game.

I was curious to know what the UK press thought of it at the time but in all those shelves of PC games magazines, I haven’t been able to locate a single review. The game looks to have been largely ignored over here, although it did get a PC Zone preview in December 1995. Some of the American press must have liked it as there are more glowing snippets from other magazines on the back:-

This isn’t the most decorative of posters although those SVGA screenshots would have been a whole lot more impressive in 1995. I have a small pile of these in a drawer so if anyone fancies owning one for the price of postage & packing, let me know.

Bioforge Standup For Sale

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Pix

I’m not in the habit of advertising on here but I’ve been given the chance to buy some more Origin memorabilia of the sort I’ve been slowly posting on here in recent months and the fact is I need money and plenty of it. I’ve already posted a splendid Bioforge standup store display on this blog. Let me introduce his twin:-

It has to be said that this Lex looks more world-weary than his brother but he would still make a seriously nice addition to any collection. He’s about 4.5 foot tall and I’m selling him on Ebay for the lowish starting price of £39.99. The airport fees alone on the parcel he came in(without shipping or VAT) were more than double that and I can more or less guarantee you aren’t going to find another in the UK. Any money I make, along with plenty of my own cash, will go towards more Origin development doc’s and the like which I’ll share on here in due course.

I’m not convinced I’ll get any takers but if you are in the UK and feel the need to decorate part of your house with a meter of cyborg, and I can’t think of reason why you wouldn’t, then a bid or two would be greatly appreciated.

Abuse Review – PC Gamer

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Pix

Here’s a review of one of Origin’s more obscure releases, taken from the March 1996 PC Gamer:-

Space Rogue – Press Release

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Pix

I’ve been hunting through Japanese auctions this last week or two, and one of the items I’ve managed to get hold of is an FM Towns version of Space Rogue. Space Rogue is a game I’ve been looking for an excuse to replay for ages and this will give just the reason when it arrives. While I’m waiting for that, here is a related item I acquired from Rhea Shelley 6 months back, the original press release for the more conventional versions of the game:-

The phrase that caught my attention on here was “a multi-media sensation spawning the beginning of the Origin Cinematic Experience”. As much as I liked the game, I wouldn’t describe it as either cinematic or multi-media but standards were of course very different back then before being redefined by Wing Commander a year later. I did wonder if this might actually be a reference to Wing Commander which must have been in early development around this time.

Ultima 3 – Perfect Guidebook To Overcome (Japanese Hint Book)

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Pix

I have electricity again so it’s back to plan A and another scan of a Japanese Ultima 3 guide. This one is the Perfect Guidebook To Overcome, published in November 1987 by Family Computer Staff. It’s the shortest of the lot at 64 pages, but from my point of view of not being able to read Japanese the best of the three as it is jam-packed full of cartoon artwork. I’ve put a scan in the downloads with the others here.

This guide came with a large fold out sheet full of dungeon maps attached to the inside of the back cover. I didn’t fancy scanning this in so I just took a couple of photos:-

For the true completist there are at least 2 variants on this book, as the inside slip cover and back page on my two copies carry different adverts.

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