Phew! Jon Hare can't half talk. Founder of Sensible Software, he is responsible for producing some of the finest, most innovative games of the late '80s and early '90s. Remember the wacky WizBall? What about the seminal, genre-defining Sensible Soccer and the equally brilliant war 'em up, Cannon Fodder? To cut to the chase, this week Future Gamer features an exclusive interview with the man and his no-holds-barred spiel on the state of the videogames industry makes for very interesting reading indeed. Talk about launching a broadside... Elsewhere, Future Gamer scribe Andy 'Jim' Ashwin has an exclusive one-to-one with Ultima supremo, Richard Garriott (also known as 'Lord British' - even though he's American as a Doodle Dandy) and you can find out what he had to say for himself in Back at the Ranch in the Gamer Life section. The PlayStation's Ape Escape is a surprisingly decent 3D platformer. It's got loads of neat touches (radars, remote-controlled cars, rubber dingies) and the aforementioned hirstute is as good a platformer the PlayStation has produced. One of Future's best writers, Stephen Pierce, reviews it for your august weekly. Midtown Madness and Star Trek: Birth of the Federation are also evaluated and there's a preview of the David Bowie-infested Omikron. Oh, you pretty things... Hope you enjoy the issue. Steve Bradley - Deputy Editor

News headlines:

Codemasters sign Music 2000 ... Medal of Honor Comes to the PC ... One Bad BAT ... No PocketStation? ... Internet access for the N64 a reality ... PlayStation dearth? ... Lucky Luke for Game Boy ... Get A Kick Out Of Gekido ... Splatterhouse coming to DC? ... Zelda sequel invades Spaceworld ... Flesh & Wire ... NovaWorld tops 10 million ... China Crisis ... Get your N64 fix while you're on the road ... Hasbro have the Formula ... Car mag covermounts games ... Nibbles ...

In this issue:
Preview: Omikron (PC) The combined talents of Quamtic Dreams and the legendary David Bowie bring you Omikron - a sprawling, futuristic urban adventure, using music written by Bowie, and featuring his face mapped on the main character's head.
Review: Ape Escape (PlayStation) Some quirky gadgets, controls and craft make this a pleasant little romp through the ever-more-familiar PlayStation platform land. Will you go bananas for it, or couldn't you give a monkey's? Find out.
Feature: Is this the most sensible man in gaming? Sensible Software's Jon Hare sounds off about the lack of freedom afforded to today's developers. Read his damning indictment of the way creativity and innovation have been stifled by corporate concerns and shifting priorities within the business.

Future Gamer was brought to you by: Andy Smith [editor], Steve Bradley [deputy editor], Vicki West [production editor] and Andy Ashwin [staff writer]. Contributors: Neil West, Ben Morris, Stephen Pierce, Matthew Pierce, Gideon Kibblewhite, Dale Bradford, Tony Banks.
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