ScuzzBlog: Diaries September 2021
Entry 17th September 2021: Post 1: CU Amiga 1994 - Ishar 3.
CU Amiga 1994 - Ishar 3.
My most favoured magazine in the early days of the Amiga 1200
was CU Amiga. It not only carried a great piece of software on the
cover disk, but often featured a good level of a game. I guess
1994 had to be the best year for the magazine. Considering that
Commodore had just gone bust it paid little regard for their
demise and soldiered on as though nothing had happened. This
was the attitude of most of the UK magazines which seemed to
go from strength to strength in the early nineties.
The disks on CU were never fragmented in tiny chunks of PD style
programs and games. You often got most if not the full package.
The games were always the best of the day and tempted the reader
with sumptuous levels to enjoy.
I was already heavy into Ishar 2 at the beginning of 1994 so when
Ishar 3 came out I simply went ahead and bought it. My original
CU Amiga cover disk is still sealed and in the plastic.
The game is designed for the 1200 so I dragged out a suitable
candidate and hooked her up to the trusty black 1084S. This 1200
has the Blizzard 1230IV so eats the file transfers. Whilst there
is an install for the game it really is much simpler to copy all
the files into one folder and run from there.
As to the game, well it wasn't as good as Ishar 2. I found the
problem solving a little too obscure and the wandering around way
to tedious. It was still fun to play and I made it to the end but
I only ever did it the once. At the end of Ishar 2 I think the
game had developed a grind structure for levelling similar to the
Final Fantasy series, albeit way cruder. I believe the second game
should have focussed more on character development and content that
was aimed at levelling skills. You were able to import your Ishar 2
chars so having a system of character development could have made
sense.
I like playing in the semi dark with these games and sadly Ishar
does need you to make notes all the time. Including your own crude
maps. It certainly was deep and kept me occupied but I found myself
reaching for the guide more and more to the end. Still worth the
effort to acquire and install, but be prepared for some serious
head scratching at times. You really can't afford to overlook any
item or clue in the game.
I do miss my monthly intake of CU Amiga, even after all these years.
Time was I could sit in bed with the mag and just go to sleep flicking
through the pages. The software, games and hardware were very well
reviewed and always tempted me to buy stuff.
Happy days.
CU Amiga 1994 - Ishar 3.
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