The BiG Story

Game Plan

Some terrific, non-violent - games for the young computer enthusiast.

Rick Broida
Special to The AppleTree

car mows down hapless
pedestrians. A disgruntled
ostal worker goes on a
shooting spree. Cops blow away a
bus load of escaped criminals.
Headlines ripped from today's
news?
Nope, just the plots that drive some
of today's most popular computer
games, and the games most likely to
turn up on your child's wish list.
What's a well-meaning parent to
do? They've outgrown the education-
al stuff, but they're too young for fly-

Game enthusiast and former
Detroiter Rick Broida is editor of
Tap, a newsletter for PaImPilot and
WorkPad users. He answers all
game-related questions sent to
RickWrite@aol.com .

12/12
1997

56

ing body parts, bloody corpses and
gratuitous nudity (all of which appear
in surprising abundance in today's
top-selling games). The problem
seems particularly acute when you
consider the ongoing improvements
in computer-game graphics, which
present the onscreen mayhem with
shocking realism.
Fortunately, alternatives exist. If you
want to oblige your children with
something new for the computer, you
can choose from dozens of fun-filled
games that haven't a trace of vio-
lence, gore, or X-rated themes. Here's
a handful of the best picks.

3-D Ultra Pinball: The Lost
Continent: Pinball with a plot?
That's the twist behind Sierra's 3-D
Ultra Pinball, which employs a wacky

time-travel adventure as the link
between its 20-plus tables. Mostly,
however, it's just good, old-fashioned
arcade fun. No quarters required.
($44.95, Sierra On-Line, 800-757-
7707, www.sierra.com )

3-D Ultra MiniGolf: The chutes.
The windmills. The laser beams.
This is miniature golf, computer-
style. Sierra's country club features
18 lavishly animated holes, each
with its own zany theme. And
once your young PGA pro has mas-
tered the back nine, he or she can
hop online for free rounds against
other duffers. ($44.95, Sierra On-
Line, 800-757-7707,
www.sierra.com )

Descent I & II: The Definitive

Collection: If your sons and
daughters crave Quake-style 3-D
action, put them at the helm of a
free-floating spaceship and send
them into Descent's robot-infested
mines. There's an abundance of
things to blast, but no gory after-
math. This boxed set contains two
complete games, plus a whole
.bunch of extras and add-ons, mak-
ing it a particularly good buy.
($19.99, Interplay, 800 468-
3775, www.interplay.com )

.

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Entertainment Pack: The
Puzzle Collection: Loaded with
10 mind-bending games from the
creator of Tetris, Microsoft's puzzle
pack gives players an intellectual
challenge under the guise of simple
fun. The real challenge is deciding