Author: admin
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President is Missing
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Norman GAME DEVELOPER:COSMI GAME PUBLISHER:COSMI Copyright 1988, COSMI Although not traditional IF in a sense that there is no text parser, President is Missing and its sequel Presumed Guilty embody what make great IF: involving story and inventive puzzles where logical deduction and attention to…
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Presumed Guilty
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:COSMI GAME PUBLISHER:COSMI Copyright 1989, COSMI Although not traditional IF in a sense that there is no text parser, President is Missing and its sequel Presumed Guilty embody what make great IF: involving story and inventive puzzles where logical deduction and attention to detail…
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Princess Maker 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Takami Akai GAME DEVELOPER:Gainax GAME PUBLISHER:Gainax Copyright 1996, Gainax One of the most unique and compelling games ever made, Princess Maker 2 is an excellent ?life simulation? from Gainax, and the only game in the Princess Maker series to have been translated into English. As to…
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Project Neptune
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1989, Epyx MobyGames says it all: “taking on the role of special agent Robert “Rip” Steel, it is up to you to destroy the evil Yellow Shadow’s network of undersea mining bases [while protecting] your own bases from attack. You…
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Project: Space Station
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lawrence Holland GAME DEVELOPER:Avantage GAME PUBLISHER:Avantage Copyright 1987, Avantage Before he developed a string of venerable flight sims for LucasArts (Their Finest Hour, X-Wing etc.), Larry Holland designed this exceptional NASA mission simulator that gives you the chance to build a space station. This gargantuan task…
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Prowler
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Mastertronic Copyright 1987, Mastertronic Prowler is a colorful futuristic 3D flight-sim that is fun for a short while, but gets insanely difficult so fast you’d need a lot of Tylenol to finish it. Nothing in the game distinguishes it from hundreds of…
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Psi 5 Trading Company
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Lorensen GAME DEVELOPER:US Gold GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1986, Accolade One of the earliest real-time space combat / trading / strategy game was well ahead of its time for its blend of trading and combat that preceded EA’s classic Starflight by a few years. A hit…
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Punisher, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Charles Griffith & Glenn Dill GAME DEVELOPER:Paragon Software GAME PUBLISHER:Paragon Software Copyright 1988, Paragon Software An original blend of action, adventure and strategy and my most favorite of all Paragon’s comics games, The Punisher casts you as the title superhero who must amass $500,000 through successful…
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Pure Wargame, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve Magestro GAME DEVELOPER:Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) GAME PUBLISHER:Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) Copyright 1995, Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) The first in an aborted Pure Wargame series, this late WW II game was disappointing in every respect: poor AI, confusing interface, and badly written manual. As loyal…
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Purple Saturn Day
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Philippe Ulrich GAME DEVELOPER:Exxos GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1988, Epyx Master of innovative sports games (California Games etc) returns to form with this strangely compelling futuristic first-person intergalactic olympics game designed by Exxos (a team of French programmers that would later form Delphine). The game features weird…
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Pushover
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Helen Elcock GAME DEVELOPER:Red Rat GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1992, Red Rat Pushover and One Step Beyond are two quirky little gems from British publisher Ocean, who take the concept of traditional parlor games and turn them into addictive puzzle games that are reminiscent of Lemmings in…
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Puzzle Gallery
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Cliff Johnson GAME DEVELOPER:Manley Associates GAME PUBLISHER:Miles Computing Copyright 1990, Cliff Johnson The “sequel” of sorts to The Fool’s Errand, Cliff Johnson wasn’t at his best in this puzzle collection designed around the “carnival” theme (the game takes a sardonic look at the amusement park biz…
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Puzzle Master
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anonymous Copyright 1991, Anonymous Nothing fancy here, just a collection of good old crossword puzzles from the New York Times, implemented flawlessly. This game lets you print out the clues, save puzzles in progress, and even create your own crossword puzzles! With…
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Pyramids of Egypt
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Romero GAME DEVELOPER:id Software GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1990, SoftDisk Publishing Although John Romero has become one of the most celebrated designers of all time, he didn’t just start with Doom or, for that matter, Wolfenstein 3D. Back when id was a small operation, Romero…
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Pyro 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael O’Brien GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1990, Michael O’Brien Without a doubt one of the most (if not THE most) entertaining ASCII games ever designed, Pyro 2 is novel in both gameplay and concept: you play a pyromaniac with fulfills his cruel streak by tying…
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Pyrotechnica
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steven Cain & Colin Parrott GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1995, Psygnosis Pyrotechnicais a fun 3D action game that is a precursor to Interplay’s blockbuster Descent in many ways (albeit not in popularity), not the least of which in smooth rotational graphics and similar goal: to…
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Quarantine
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Imagexcel GAME PUBLISHER:GameTek Copyright 1995, GameTek One of the first truly irreverent and unpretentiously violent games, Quarantine has achieved cult classic status among action gamers as one of the few games that provide pure, unfiltered, visceral fun of killing pedestrians and everything else that…
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Quarky and Quaysoo’s Turbo Science
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Tunnell GAME DEVELOPER:Jeff Tunnell Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1994, Jeff Tunnell Productions A pleasant surprise by master puzzler Jeff Tunnell, this is “edutainment” at its best. Essentially a science trivia games for kids, this game puts a new spin on the ideas with wacky…
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Quarterpole
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Action Games GAME PUBLISHER:Micro League Copyright 1995, Action Games Good to Firm and Quarterpole are two of the better horseracing games available on the market. Both Good to Firm and Quarterpole are full-fledged stable management game that lets you control every aspect of the…
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Questmaster 1: Prism of Heheutotol
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sean Barger GAME DEVELOPER:MicroIllusions GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1988, Sean Barger Questmaster 1 is a fun adventure game that was ahead of its time, with vibrant 16-bit graphics and a good parser. Summoned by the Elders to help find the Crystal Prism to vanquish the evil Colnar,…
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Questprobe featuring Spider-Man
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Adams GAME DEVELOPER:Adventure International GAME PUBLISHER:Adventure International Copyright 1985, Adventure International Spider-Man follows The Hulk as the second instalment in the Questprobe link-up between Marvel Comics and Scott Adams marketed in the UK by Adventure International. In keeping with the theme, the background to the…
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Questprobe featuring The Fantastic Four
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Adams GAME DEVELOPER:Adventure International GAME PUBLISHER:Adventure International Copyright 1986, Adventure International Fantastic Four is, thank goodness, the last and best (in a relative sense) game in the short-lived Questprobe series which was a collaboration between Adventure International and Marvel Comics. This time, you control the…
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Questprobe featuring The Hulk
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Adams GAME DEVELOPER:Adventure International GAME PUBLISHER:Adventure International Copyright 1984, Adventure International The Hulk is a disappointing first instalment of the Questprobe series from Adventure International, which was produced in collaboration with Marvel Comics. Despite a ‘Difficulty level: Moderate’ tag on the box, the game is…
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Qwirks
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alexei Pajitnov GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1996, MicroProse This is a a good Tetris variation with difficult computer opponents, each with unique playing style. Players can manipulate the path of falling Qwirk, rotate its position, and speed up its rate of descent. When four Qwirks…
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Rack ‘Em
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rick Banks & Paul Butler GAME DEVELOPER:Artech GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1988, Artech Rack ’em is a fun pool game that offers 8-ball, 9-ball, and snooker games. The game captures both look and feel of a pool parlor, and has an effective three-window interface (close-up of the…
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Rags to Riches
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:R. Leigh Ardrey GAME DEVELOPER:Interplay GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1992, Interplay A fun but ultimately too dry stock market simulation that tries to make trading stocks more fun by adding neat options like the ability to call your Mom for more money (EG), luxury goods you can…
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Raiden
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Robert Coe GAME DEVELOPER:Imagitec Design GAME PUBLISHER:GameTek Copyright 1994, GameTek Raiden is a good PC translation of a popular console shoot-em-up. Standard fare here– shoot baddies, collect power-ups, and overcome end-level bosses. The plot: Mother Earth has fallen to deranged aliens. Now, as pilot of the…
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Railroad Empire
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:T. Nagahama GAME DEVELOPER:ArtDink GAME PUBLISHER:Seika Copyright 1991, Seika Railroad Empire is an older version of ArtDink’s underrated A-Train railroad simulation that was published by Maxis in the U.S. Although two years older than its better-known predecessor (no surprises here, given that it was hardly sold…
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Ram
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve Estvanik GAME DEVELOPER:Avalon Hill GAME PUBLISHER:Avalon Hill Copyright 1985, Avalon Hill “A tactical simulation of trireme warfare; an often-ignored subject in wargaming, the treatment herein rendered it hors de combat.” [excerpt from M. Evan Brooks’ Homepage] There’s not much more I can add about the…
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Rambo: First Blood Part II
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tony Pomfret & Dave Collier GAME DEVELOPER:Angelsoft GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1985, Angelsoft Yup, it’s interactive fiction based on Rambo 2, one of the last movies you would want to make a game out of, much less a text adventure. Anyway, here we are so we might…
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Rastan
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Taito GAME PUBLISHER:Taito Copyright 1990, Taito Rastan is a great PC conversion of the arcade hack & slash hit. From MobyGames description: “A foul dragon and his evil minions run rampant over Lograth. The land is filled with danger, the times are harsh, and…
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Rasterscan
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Mastertronic Copyright 1987, Mastertronic In this novel puzzle game, you must maneuver MSB, a maintenance droid, around the damaged ship Rasterscan to avert the impending crash with a nearby star. MSB must solve numerous logic puzzles to gain access to other areas…
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RBI Baseball 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tengen GAME PUBLISHER:Tengen Copyright 1990, Tengen Three years after the release of RBI Baseball, commonly regarded as the best baseball game ever made for the Nintendo, Tengen made a big comeback in 1990 with RBI Baseball 2, released first for the Nintendo and later…
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Reach for The Gold
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:US Gold GAME PUBLISHER:US Gold Copyright 1993, US Gold Reach for the Gold is fun, arcade-oriented collection of Olympic events. With cartoon graphics and simple controls, the game is strong on fun if short on realism, and as such appeals more to the sports…
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Reach for The Stars
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roger Keating & Ian Trout GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Studies Group (SSG) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Studies Group (SSG) Copyright 1986, Strategic Studies Group (SSG) The first time I read about Reach for the Stars was in a computer magazine at the local library, after reading about 10 lines of…
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Realms
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve Turner GAME DEVELOPER:Graftgold GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1990, Graftgold An early fantasy strategy game, the goal in Realms is by now a familiar fare: recruit armies of humans, orcs, and other creatures to conquer the known world. For its time however, the game features an…