Author: admin
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Super-VGA Harrier
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Simis GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1992, Simis Another excellent, groundbreaking flight sim from Simis. Basically a huge graphical update over AV8B Harrier Assault, released months earlier. Apparently Simis put “Super-VGA” in the name to celebrate the fact that it was the first SVGA flight sim…
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Soccer Kid
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Krisalis GAME PUBLISHER:Krisalis Copyright 1994, Krisalis A fun, highly underrated platformer from Krisalis, and perhaps the only entry in our “Football (Soccer” theme that doesn’t belong in the Sport genre 😉 MobyGames has the lowdown” on this one: “Soccer Kid is an unique platform…
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CyberMage: Darklight Awakening
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Bradley GAME DEVELOPER:Origin Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Origin Systems Copyright 1995, Origin Systems One of Origin’s most obscure releases, CyberMage: Darklight Awakening is a fun cyberpunk first-person shooter designed by D.W. Bradley, of Wizardry fame. The game unfortunately suffered from the “too much ahead of its time”…
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Mario Andretti’s Racing Challenge
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Distinctive Software GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1991, Distinctive Software Nice 3D racer from Canadian racing game experts Distinctive Software. Features a fun career mode and a nice selection of different tracks and cars from Sprint Cars, Stock Cars to Formula One and Indy racers.…
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Dangerous Streets
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Micromania GAME PUBLISHER:Flair Copyright 1992, Micromania One of the worst fighting games ever made– and possibly the only game from obscure Italian company Micromania. First impression of the game isn’t bad– it’s a 2D fighting game starring superhero-type fighters in latex. It’s only when…
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Prehistorik
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Olivier Diaz GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus “Eat and beat your way through 150 screens of awesome, nourishing fun and relive the Prehistorik epic in this incredible platform game. Armed with your Diner Club Anticus, proven to be the ancestor of the baseball bat,…
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Prehistorik 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1993, Titus “Eat and beat your way through 150 screens of awesome, nourishing fun and relive the Prehistorik epic in this incredible platform game. Armed with your Diner Club Anticus, proven to be the ancestor of the baseball bat, you…
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Super Cauldron
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus Super Cauldron is yet another platform game by Titus, well fitting to their long list of games in this genre such as Prehistorik, Blues Brothers and Titus the Fox. However, Super Cauldron is far more imaginative in terms…
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Knight Force
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus The “forgotten” Titus game, Knight Force remains today a very rare find– even the original Amiga release is hard to come by. (Until now, that is ;)) The reasons for its obscurity is somewhat mysterious, given that Knight…
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RS-2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Softstar GAME PUBLISHER:Softstar Copyright 1992, Softstar RS-2 is a fun, mindless shooter from premier Taiwanese developer SoftStar. Typical top-down shooter– no innovation to speak of, but excels at what it does: providing knuckle-blistering action through dozens of levels. More memorable aspects of the game…
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Radio Baseball
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Diamond Edge GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1986, Diamond Edge One of Electronic Arts’ oldest sport releases and one of the few sports simulations it ever published, Radio Baseball is a solid baseball simulation from the now-defunct Diamond Edge Software. Despite its age, the game…
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Elasto Mania
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Csaba Rozsa GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anonymous Copyright 2000, Csaba Rozsa Elasto Mania is not a racing game, nor is it a motorbike simulation. Rather, Elasto Mania is a very clever combination of these two. And more. If you really want to put a term on this…
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Mathtris
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Freeware Mathtris is a fun and educational Tetris clone that tests your arithmetic skill in addition to quick reflexes. Blocks that drop from above have either an integer or an arithmetic sign (plus, minus, multiply, divide, or equal) painted…
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Gear Works
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hollyware GAME PUBLISHER:Hollyware Copyright 1992, Hollyware Gear Works is a decent puzzle game that may appeal to fans of Incredible Machine series. Your objective is to create gigantic clocks on 12 of the world’s most famous monuments. To do this, you must place given…
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Sex Vixens from Space
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Free Spirit GAME PUBLISHER:Free Spirit Copyright 1988, Free Spirit From C.E. Forman’s description of Free Spirit’s horrendous adult adventure games: “Free Spirit Software published a number of adult text adventure games for PC and possibly other platforms. All of their titles (with the exception…
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Planet of Lust
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Free Spirit GAME PUBLISHER:Free Spirit Copyright 1989, Free Spirit From C.E. Forman’s description of Free Spirit’s horrendous adult adventure games: “Free Spirit Software published a number of adult text adventure games for PC and possibly other platforms. All of their titles (with the exception…
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Striker
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Rage Software GAME PUBLISHER:Rage Software Copyright 1991, Rage Software Rage’s first entry in the Striker series is an ambitious soccer game that boasts smooth graphics, but with no element of excitement. Gets the red card for lack of playability. In short, Striker is a…
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Planet Football
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Condor Software GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1994, Condor Software Planet Football is an ambitious soccer game that tries to beat EA’s classic FIFA Soccer, but falls short in many areas, most notably poor player controls and inexplicable AI quirks. The game is only good enough…
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Thomas The Tank Engine
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Britt Allcroft GAME DEVELOPER:Peakstar GAME PUBLISHER:Alternative Copyright 1992, Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd. Thomas The Tank Engine and its sequel are two fun action games for kids based on the popular kids’ stories of the same name. For those who aren’t familiar with the books, Thomas The…
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Thomas The Tank Engine 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Britt Allcroft GAME DEVELOPER:Peakstar GAME PUBLISHER:Alternative Copyright 1993, Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd. Thomas The Tank Engine and its sequel are two fun action games for kids based on the popular kids’ stories of the same name. For those who aren’t familiar with the books, Thomas The…
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Ugh!
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Thomas Klinger GAME DEVELOPER:EGOSOFT GAME PUBLISHER:Blue Byte Copyright 1992, Blue Byte Good conversion of the Amiga game. Ugh! is a neat clone of Space Taxi, a great Commodore 64/Amiga classic that was never made for the PC. Instead of a future scenario, Ugh! is set in…
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Titus The Fox
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eric Zmiro GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus MobyGames description says it all about Titus’ most popular platformer: “Titus the Fox: to Marrakech and Back is one of the most popular and innovative titles ever to be witnessed on the old 286. It’s a really…
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Tom and The Ghost
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Blue Byte GAME PUBLISHER:Blue Byte Copyright 1990, Blue Byte Little 7 year old Tom and his mother go on a trip to a castle in Scotland. While there, an evil magician enters the scene and casts a spell on Tom’s mother, both disappear, leaving…
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Motocross
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Tunnell GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Gamestar Copyright 1989, Dynamix Nice motocross racing game by Dynamix, designed by Jeff Tunnell of The Incredible Machine and Heart of China fame. Offers you the choice to practice or race a whole season on ten tracks in all. Many aspects…
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PGA Tour Golf
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Sterling Silver GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1990, Sterling Silver PGA Tour Golf is an excellent oldie golf game by EA. Although technically not as amazing as Access’ Links, which (unfortunately for EA) came out around the same time, but PGA Tour Golf offers a…
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Attack
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:IBM GAME PUBLISHER:IBM Copyright 1982, IBM One of the most interesting games ever made, IBM’s archaic 1982 game Attack would go down in history as just another mundane, primitive Paratrooper clone, if not for the fact that it could very well be the first…
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Shooting Heart
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Asys GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Asys Shooting Heart is a great freeware side-scrolling shooter from Japanese freeware group Asys. Choose to play as one of 3 main characters from To Heart, a popular anime series about romance in highschool, starring both humans and androids.…
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Legend of Myra
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Grand Slam GAME PUBLISHER:Grand Slam Copyright 1992, Grand Slam Legend of Myra is an okay puzzle game of treasure hunting in mazes similar to classic Boulderdash. You control Slimmy the rabbit in this game, as explores mazes full of monsters. Your goal is to…
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Spot
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Graeme Devine GAME DEVELOPER:Virgin Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1991, Virgin Interactive Spot is a fun Othello-style game starring 7Up’s Spot character. In this board game for one or two players, your objective is to occupy as many tiles as possible by placing your pieces on…
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Harrier Jump Jet
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1992, MicroProse One of MicroProse’s most overlooked flight sim, Harrier Jump Jet is a very detailed flight simulator of the RAF’s Harrier GR7 and the US Marine Corps’ AV-8B using a – for its time – very innovative gouraud shading…
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Railroad Tycoon Deluxe
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Bruce Shelley GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1993, MicroProse Railroad Tycoon Deluxe (RDX) is an excellent updated version of Sid Meier’s classic Railroad Tycoon, a game of robber barons at the turn of 20th century. Despite a host of new features and graphics, RDX sold very…
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1942: The Pacific Air War
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ed Fletcher GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1994, MicroProse “Strap yourself into the cockpit of a Wildcat or a Zero. In 1942: PAW, you experience the ultimate simulation of daring air combat in the South Pacific. Chase down Wildcats, Corsairs or Zeros through relentless gunfire, harass…
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MicroProse Pro Soccer
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Sensible Software GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1989, MicroProse Also known as Keith Van Eron’s Pro Soccer (that one was published by MicroPlay, a MicroProse label). MicroProse Pro Soccer is a decent conversion of Sensible Software’s C64 classic MicroProse Soccer. The conversion was done by Designer…
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F-15 Strike Eagle II
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier & Andy Hollis GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1989, Firaxis Follow-up to Sid Meier’s legendary early flight sim F-15 Strike Eagle from 1985. For the sequel, he teamed up with Andy Hollis to create yet again an outstanding flight simulation that perfectly balances arcade…
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F-19 Stealth Fighter
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1988, Firaxis A minority of vocal hard-core flight sim fanatics will try to convince you that anything prior to Falcon 3.0 is closer to a jazzed-up arcade experience than a true simulation. How ironic it is, then, that MicroProse’s…
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All Alone
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Finley GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Ian Finley All Alone is a great short work of interactive fiction from Ian Finley, author of Babel and Exhibition, two modern IF competition favorites. As for why All Alone is another must-play, I’ll let Duncan Stevens’ great…
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Plant, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Roberts GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Michael Roberts Given that the author is none other than Michael J. Roberts, the creator of TADS interpreter for modern IF, I had very high expectations for the game. And my expectations are more than fulfilled: The Plant…
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Muse: An Autumn Romance
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Christopher Huang GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Christopher Huang Second-place winner of the 1998 Annual IF Competition, Muse: An Autumn Romance is a beautifully written, touching game about the nature of human relationship. Set in a Victorian era, the game will definitely not appeal to…
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Glowgrass
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Nate Cull GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1997, Nate Cull Glowgrass is a worthy third-place winner in the 3rd Annual IF Competition (in 1997– a year when the competition was dominated by sci-fi stories: both The Edifice and Babel, first- and second-place winners, are science fiction).…
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Little Blue Men
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Gentry GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Michael Gentry Little Blue Men is an excellent absurdist sci-fi game that gets my vote for the best underdog of the 4th Annual IF Competition. The game?s seventh-place finish belies the author?s unique, experimental, and some would say…
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Doonesbury Election Game: Campaign ’96
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Chase GAME DEVELOPER:Kellogg Creek GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1996, Mindscape The Doonesbury Election Game: Campaign 96 is a fun, but largely forgotten, simulation of 1996 US Presidential Election that allows the players to create their own tickets, pick campaign staffs from dozens of comic strip Doonesbury…
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Masquerade
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Kathleen Fischer GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Kathleen Fischer Masquerade is an excellent story-based IF set in Civil-War era romance genre– something not commonly seen since Amy Brigg/Infocom’s mildly successful Plundered Hearts. The game gets high marks for its very detailed gameworld, strong writing, and…
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Mother Loose
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Irene Callaci GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Irene Callaci Mother Loose is a charming, witty game about fairy tale characters that will appeal to anyone who loves Sierra’s Mixed-Up Mother Goose or Mixed-Up Fairy Tales. What makes Mother Loose extraordinary is the fact that it…