Even though I hadn’t read it in years, I was a little depressed to hear that the venerable Computer Gaming World magazine was being folded into a lifeless Microsofted bastard publication entitled Games for Windows. However, the discovery of this PDF archive cheered me up greatly, especially since I’d once tried to put together my own comprehensive collection of CGWs back in the early 1990s when Pocket and I had been discussing the possibility of an Encyclopedia of Electronic Games.
Unfortunately, not even CGW had a complete collection, having somehow lost many magazines in the move from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Or perhaps it was the other way, I can’t remember now.
It’s interesting to see how perceptive some of the early reviewers were. Wizardry was rightly identified as an instant classic, suitable for the then nonexistent Hall of Fame. On the other hand, I think most gamers would be surprised to know that SSI’s Kampfgruppe won game of the year in 1985, beating out the excellent Ultima III.