_{Cover of the December 1987 issue of Commodore User}

Commodore User was a pretty long running Commodore magazine that initially covered the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 and later the Amiga. There may have briefly also been a bit of Commodore 16/Plus 4 coverage. While not strictly a gaming magazine initially, it was by the time 1987 rolled around. The December 1987 issue covered the Commodore 64 and Amiga and includes:

Specials

• Combat School - A review of Combat School by Ocean for the Commodore 64. This was kind of like a multi-sport game such as Winter/Summer Games only with a boot camp theme.


• Sub Compo - A competition in which the reader had to answer three questions about submarines for the chance to win a chance to spend a day on a Royal Navy Submarine. This contest was associated with the impending release of The Hunt for Red October.


• Games For '88 - New arcade games at the Tokyo JAMMA Show. Some of the games there include Final Lap, Heavyweight Champ, Thumnder Blade, Cyber Tank, and Full Throttle.


• Pull Out Poster - A Skate or Die! poster.


• Buzz - A sneak peak at upcoming games including Rastan Saga, Out Run, Rampage, Jack the Ripper, Masters of the Universe, Mars Cops, Test Drive, and Platoon.


• Adventure - A look at adventure games, including: Not A Penny More Not A Penny Less, a text adventure with graphics based on the book of the same name; Nord and Bert, a text adventure from Infocom; Zodiac, a text adventure with graphics from Incentive; plus some help for Questprobe 2: Spiderman.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1987 issue of Commodore User}

Screen Scene

• Rygar - A pretty lousy side-scrolling beat-em-up for the Commodore 64.


• Skate or Die - A decent skateboarding sim for the Commodore 64.


• Combat School - A review of Combat School by Ocean for the Commodore 64. This was kind of like a multi-sport game such as Winter/Summer Games only with a boot camp theme.


• Cosmic Causeway - You could think of this one as Trailblazer 2 even though it technically isn't.


• Star Wars - The Star Wars arcade game ported to the Commodore 64. It gets a mediocre review here mostly because the vector graphics of the arcade don't translate that well.


• Freddy Hardest - A port of a budget title for the Spectrum. So not that great.


• Mean Streak - A decent motorcycle racing game.


• Maniac Mansion - Lucasfilm's classic adventure game on the Commodore 64. This and Zak McCracken are must play games.


• XOR - A maze game that makes use of the XOR logic.


• Jack the Nipper 2: Coconut Capers - The object of this game seems to be to cause mischief but it reminds be a bit of Spelunker.


• Buggy Boy - A Pole Position style racing game that gets a good review here.


• Passengers on the Wind 2 - A rather obscure adventure game based on a French comic strip.


• Superstar Ice Hockey - A mediocre hockey game.


• Mad Balls - Based on a license for Mad balls that were around in the 1980s. The game actually turns out ok.


• Beat It - A maze/puzzle game in which you must collect the correct notes.


• Kromazone - A sort of arcade spaceship game played from a first person point of view though there doesn't seem to be much to do.


• Starlifter - A 2-way horizontal shooter budget game that gets a pretty good review.


• Bobsleigh - Similar to such events in Winter Games type games but with more realism, particularly when it comes to managing an olympic team.


• Gunboat - Kind of like River Raid from a boat's perspective. But the graphics are no better and the game play is not as good.


• Airborne Ranger - An outstanding game from Microprose. Think of it as a game like Commando but with better graphics, more complexity, more realism and more varied missions.


• Athena - A pretty terrible side scrolling action game.


• Power Struggle - A Cold War era strategy game.


• Zig Zag - Described as a hunt and kill maze game, the graphics and perspective will remind you a lot of Zaxxon.


• Tetris - Tetris on the C64...available quite a while before the Game Boy came around.


• Spore - A game reminiscent of Gauntlet but with spores instead of magical creatures.


• Survivors - You control three droids whose job it is to rescue people from their nuclear shelter. From the review, it's not worth the 1.99 it cost.


• Mask - Based on the comic and TV show of the same name.


• PHM Pegasus - A simulation/strategy game in which you control a "Hydrofoil Missile craft".


• Ubik's Music - A music program that lets you created musical sequences. Quite complex for the low price.

_{Back cover of the December 1987 issue of Commodore User}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2022/06/21/commodore-user-december-1987/