Sega

The platform wars have begun . . . again. Hold on to your wallets.The first-ever Electronic Entertainment Expo -- or E3, the loud and lively convention that helped kill the summer Consumer Electronics Show -- this month conveniently provided the battleground for the initial skirmishes in what would be another expensive test of wills among video-game companies.New-kid-on-the-block Sony made the most noise by challenging top dogs Sega and Nintendo while virtually ignoring 3DO and the Atari Jaguar.

Thieves used bolt cutters to cut through a fence surrounding a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. parking lot and stole $400 worth of copper wire between 3:30 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday, county police said.A company manager at the lot in the 100 block of Dover Road reported the theft Tuesday. Police said the thieves stole seven rolls of copper wire from three trucks.BGE crews drove off in the trucks before they could be checked for evidence, police said. The manager told police the theft was the second of its kind within a week.

POLICE LOG* Savage: 8900 block of River Island Drive: A Sega game system, a shotgun, a camera and cash were stolen after someone pried open a home's window Tuesday, police said.* Jessup: 8200 block of Patuxent Range Road: A white 1994 Dodge Caravan with Maryland tags 640 346M was reported stolen Wednesday, police said.

POLICE LOG* Wilde Lake: 10400 block of Twin Rivers Road: An officer responding to an alarm at Erol's at the Wilde Lake Shopping Center found the video store's rear window smashed Saturday. Police said a burglar pried open a display case inside and took a Sega game system.

A Baltimore youth was arrested and charged as a juvenile Tuesday afternoon after a Best Buys security officer caught him trying to steal a Sega video game cassette about 5 p.m., police said.The 15-year-old was charged with theft under $300 and released to his parents.Keith Russell, the security officer at the store in the 6700 block of Ritchie Highway, was watching a video monitor when he saw the youth take the $45 cassette and put it under his coat.The security officer caught the teen-ager before he had left the store, police said.

POLICE LOG* Owen Brown: 8800 block of Stanford Boulevard: A green 1995 Ford Escort station wagon was reported stolen from Apple Ford Tuesday, police said.9700 block of Broken Land Parkway: A black 1986 Nissan truck with Maryland tags 22B800 was stolen Sunday. Police said the keys had been left in the ignition.* Oakland Mills: 6100 block of Encounter Row: A resident told police Tuesday that someone had kicked open a side door and had stolen a TV, stereo, rings and a Sega Genesis video game.

On movie screens this fall, Tom Cruise will compete with Robert De Niro. On television, Tim Allen and Kelsey Grammer are duking it out. In record stores, R.E.M. will square off against Michael Jackson.In the world of video games, this season's clash of the titans is between Sonic the Hedgehog and Donkey Kong.The season's expected hit titles -- Sega of America's "Sonic and Knuckles" (due in stores today) and Nintendo of America's "Donkey Kong Country" (due Nov. 21) -- both purport to radically advance video-game technology.

Among the millions of American children who melt their minds staring blankly at 16-bit video game screens, there's one lad whose obsession with scoring a hat trick, running with Sonic the Hedgehog or mortally wounding Goro the half-dragon man-beast has given him national renown.The ability to manipulate the little plastic controls on his Sega Genesis game system has earned Fred Doughty, 17, of Baltimore, the title of World Champion in Blockbuster Video's 1994 World Video Game Challenge. The international competition, sponsored by Blockbuster Video, took place last weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Fla."

You're at the controls of one of the Army's most modern tanks and the battle is heating up. Electronic equipment detects an enemy artillery unit taking aim from its position 2,000 meters off to the left and an attack helicopter, armed with deadly air-to-ground missiles, moving in fast.The situation calls for split-second decisions and your response can be the difference between being blown to bits or living to fight another day.Fortunately, it's only simulation. The action is taking place inside a building, but it is so real that in 1991 fighter pilots and tank crews used such simulators to hone their fighting skills before going off to battle in the Persian Gulf war.But now, Martin Marietta Corp.

Although a strike might soon stop the major-league baseball season, there are different ways to keep the action going. Kids can continue to watch their favorite players hit, catch and throw through video games.Baseball video games continue to add features and improve their three-dimensional graphics.Some games let you see diving catches in the outfield. Others let you match wits with the help of 1993 statistics.For Super Nintendo, the favorite baseball game among kids appears to be Super Bases Loaded 2. It features top 3-D graphics and different camera angles for following the ball.