Just the other day we published a review of Emerald Mine, a very clever and well-designed arcade action puzzler that was made on, and for, the Amiga. After publishing the review (and playing the game even further) we decided to adjust our original score from 5 hearts to 4. The reason is because, while the game deserves high praise, it feels slightly off-balance from level to level at times. The difficulty differences between some levels is so abrupt at times that it doesn't ring true to a perfect 5 score. It's still a 4, which is excellent, but not pure perfection in our minds.
Interestingly, in the January 1989 issue of AmigaWorld, the editors seemed to admit as much in a feature article called An Amiga Starter Kit. The point of the multi-page article was to tell new Amiga owners what essential software they should buy to help those looking for the biggest and most efficient bang for their collective bucks. To AmigaWorld's credit, it was a nice "reboot" article concept of sorts for those who had just taken the plunge, as the platform and technology was indeed mature by this point, but the hardware and software landscape must have seemed daunting.
The editors went through several software categories starting with word processors, where they ultimately landed with Word Perfect ($395) before suggesting more budget-minded options like KindWords ($100) and ProWrite ($125). They continued on with databases, spreadsheets, and financial software. After that was a section called "On the right side" which was aimed at creative folk. Of course, they immediately recommended DeluxePaint II.
The final section, however, was called "Time Off for Good Behavior." It was all about games. Must-have games. They offered - right off the bat (pun intended) - Earl Weaver Baseball (EWB). They suggested that it could be played as an arcade game, but also as a deep baseball simulation depending on how you went about it.
Now, yes, it's a very North American-centric choice, but that was their primary readership. Canada had two MLB baseball teams at the time after all, not to mention how much talent came from Spanish-speaking North and Central American countries. But more interestingly, Earl Weaver Baseball was being solicited to new Amiga owners before any other game!
For arcade action, they also suggested Marble Madness and (finally) Emerald Mine for "fast action that never grows old". They also threw a bone towards Faery Tale Adventure and the Bard's Tale series, before finishing with Flight Simulator II, F/A-18 Interceptor, Cinemaware's Three Stooges and Rocket Ranger.
However for the price, and the depth, the editors seemed to realize that Earl Weaver Baseball offered more entertainment for the money than what they ranked just two months earlier (3rd place out of 40, where Emerald Mine had been ranked #1). To offer EWB first and foremost seems telling, to us at least. And while Emerald Mine was still in the list, it wasn't touted as the #1 title to the degree it had been. It was just another mention, next to other great classics.
Emerald Mine does remain, however, a serious contender in the realm of classic games for the Amiga. But perhaps slightly less than el numero uno. And maybe a tiny bit more, once the adrenaline wears off a bit.