Shanghai: Great Moments
$14.95		(Win95/98 Only!) (DVD Case) (SHANGHAIPR)

Activision / Softkey

Game/Puzzle

Ratings:

4 stars from Electronic Entertainment

3 ½ stars from CD-ROM Today

Four Multimedia Tile-Matching Games

The Great Wall - dismantle this mighty structure as the powers of gravity and magnetism hold true. Beware, tiles fall as lower ones are removed.

Beijing - Slide an entire row of tiles to make a match - and create a new situation each time. One wrong match and a high-scoring move disappears.

Action Shanghai - Clear the screen quickly before additional tiles appear. Speed is a factor as stacks of tiles grow higher and block those that were once free.

Classic Shanghai - Match your tiles traditionally - or play with all tiles face-down in Contemplation Mode.

Features:

• Hosted by Hollywood star Rosalind Chao (Joy Luck Club) who offers help and strategy hints along the way.
• Themed tile sets feature a variety of great moments in time: Sci-Fi, Romance, Art, People, Music, Events, Inventors and classic Mah-Jongg.
• Stunning tile animation, film clips, video segments and audio.
• A variety of game layouts, musical themes and photographic background images.

Requirements: IBM PC or 100% compatible, 486/33MHz or faster, 8MB RAM, Double speed CD-ROM drive (300K bps), Hard disk drive with 12 MB available, 256 color SVGA (640 x 480 or higher), Microsoft Windows 95/98 Only, Mouse, Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card.

Does not work properly on Windows XP.

Reviews:

Computer Gaming World, June 1995

"Shanghai is one of those 'easy to learn, hard to win' kind of games that quickly captures your mind and reluctantly lets it go. This especially true given Activision's extravagant multimedia release of Shanghai: Great Moments. The basic premise of this classic tile game, which involves trying to match and remove tiles a la solitaire, has been enhanced with several traditional variations and lots of neat visuals. Live-action video introductions and strategy hints by Rosalind Chao (Joy Luck Club) are scattered throughout, and there are several different tile sets, all of which are pleasantly animated. Upon winning a game, gamers are treated to one of over 150 different video clips. This game is surprisingly addicting - we found that 'one quick game' quickly turned into several. One drawback is the repetitively annoying soundtrack, which is decidedly sub-par for a game of this quality. But overall, Shanghai: Great Moments looks good, and with its gameplay enhancements, appears to have some durability."

Electronic Entertainment, June 1995

"In Classic Shanghai, you simply match tiles from a stacked board. Action Shanghai pits you against the clock while continuously adding tiles to the board, often faster than you can clear them away. Beijing uses an unstacked board and works like a classic slider puzzle; you can create pairs by moving matching tiles next to each other in addition to selecting corresponding free tiles. Finally, Great Wall puts a Tetris spin on Shanghai, with tiles that fall from upper rows as lower ones are removed. You can play any of the games in tournament or two-player head-to-head modes.

"Regardless of which version you play, you can choose among nine tile sets: Classic Mahjongg, Space Exploration, Sci-Fi, Romance, Art, People, Music, Events, and Inventors. The eight modern sets add themed backgrounds, music, and payoff videos and animations. In Sci-Fi, for example, the tiles bear frames of classic movie clips; match a pair to see the whole clip. The Romance and Inventors sets boost the challenge by letting you match famous couples and inventors with their creations, respectively. You may even learn a thing or two."

CD-ROM Today, July 1995

"The disc version adds some new games to this ancient pastime that are certain to appeal to Shanghai enthusiasts. In The Great Wall, for example, a layer of tiles is spread across the screen; remove tiles from the middle or bottom, and the top layers shift downward. Cool! And there's a speed challenge (the Action Game) where you race against the clock matching tiles before new ones appear. In Beijing, you get a 9-tile by 16-tile grid with a couple of holes in it; you clear the screen by matching pairs using tiles on the edges of the grid.

"However, Shanghai: Great Moments spends too much time on frills. Sure, it has new tile sets ranging from Great Works of Art to Space Exploration. And, every time you match a tile you uncover a photo or an elaborate animation. However, Great Moments' new visual elements, improved tile animation, and shading make each tile sets loading time at least two minutes."

HomePC, February 1996

"Great Moments contains enough varieties of this tile-based variation on solitaire to keep you clicking for hours. The original Shanghai (included here) still looks sharp, with gorgeous Chinese backgrounds, lighthearted music and animated cursors. But this enhanced version adds nine new tile sets, 14 layouts, six games with varying challenges, and diverting video clips. And Great Moments' tile sets often give the games a terrific twist. Select Romance, for example, and you'll try to pair off famous couples, such as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, or Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. Each match calls up a video or animation sequence; clearing the board earns the winner another moving reward."

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