Author: admin
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Battlecruiser 3000AD
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Derek Smart GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Derek Smart One of the most controversial?if not THE most controversial?games of all time, epic space simulation Battlecruiser 3000 AD is the ultimate testament to the importance of public relations and commercial considerations to sales of a computer…
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New Order
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Freeware Decent ripoff of Epic Megagames/Electronic Arts’ underrated shooter Fire Fight, done by a “warez” group. Fire Fight players will immediately recognize the ships, explosions, and even tiny graphical detail. Gameplay is also identical: pilot a futuristic ship in…
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Airborne Ranger
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lawrence Schick GAME DEVELOPER:Microprose GAME PUBLISHER:Microprose Copyright 1988, Microprose Arguably the first ever tactical simulation of modern warfare, Airborne Ranger was billed as “action simulation,” and it flawlessly fulfills that audacious claim. For the first time, success in a military-themed game requires stealth and careful planning…
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Skyfox II: The Cygnus Conflict
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Damon Slye & Jeff Tunnell GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1988, Dynamix Skyfox II is a fun, early 3D space shooter from Dynamix that marks one of the earliest and few collaborative efforts between its two founding designers, Damon Slye and Jeff Tunnell?long before they…
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Pirates! Gold for Windows
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Murphy GAME DEVELOPER:Microprose GAME PUBLISHER:Microprose Copyright 1993, Firaxis Pirates! Gold is the excellent remake of 1987?s Pirates!, Sid Meier?s classic game of swashbuckling on the high seas. Despite the pedigree of the original version, the game suffered the same fate as Railroad Tycoon Deluxe when…
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WetSpot 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Angelo Mottola GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Angelo Mottola WetSpot 2 is an outstanding arcade/puzzle hybrid which plays like a cross between Bubble Bobble and Pengo (and the author in fact acknowledge their influence on his site). The game even uses character graphics and music…
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Totally MAD
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Learning Company, The Copyright 2000, Warner Brothers Despite its placement in the genre here, Totally MAD is not an educational title (unless you count Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions educational). It is not even a game. It is however a very good…
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Peter Pan
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1995, EA*Kids One of the best releases in Electronic Arts short-lived EA*Kids line, Peter Pan is a fun interactive storybook designed for kids aged 4-8. The excellent review at Quandary says it all: “Peter Pan is an animated…
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Tales of The Float Land
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Compile GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Compile Tales of the Float Land is a fun demo of a unique anime RPG/board game hybrid that plays like a cross between a simplified version of Magic: The Gathering and Life board game. The goal of the game…
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SeptFox
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Anonymous SeptFox is a unique puzzle game that plays like Sokoban with a unique twist. The goal: move a well-known mischievous anime fox to the green exit cone. Obstructing your path are immovable blocks and movable dice, each occupying…
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Ken’s Labyrinth
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ken Silverman GAME DEVELOPER:Epic Megagames GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1993, Ken Silverman A horrible 3D game from Ken Silverman, wonderboy creator of Build Engine, the groundbreaking engine behind 3D Realms Duke Nukem 3D— arguably the first game that posed a serious threat to ids DOOM as the…
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Complete Chess System
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Whittington GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:Oxford Softworks Copyright 1993, Oxford Softworks Complete Chess System (CCS) is an excellent hardcore chess program from Oxford Softworks that sold reasonably well in UK but is literally unknown elsewhere. In addition to running on one of the strongest chess…
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Lethal Tender
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Colin Stokes GAME DEVELOPER:Pie in The Sky GAME PUBLISHER:Pie in The Sky Copyright 1993, Pie in The Sky Lethal Tender is a fun, albeit amateurish, first-person shooter from Pie in the Sky, maker of shareware classic Corncob 3D. In this campy Rambo-inspired game, you play beefy…
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Terminal Terror
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Colin Stokes GAME DEVELOPER:Pie in The Sky GAME PUBLISHER:Pie in The Sky Copyright 1994, Pie in The Sky Terminal Terror is a much-improved sequel of sorts to Pie in The Sky’s campy 3D shooter Lethal Tender. Despite banal graphics and clich? plot (another Rambo-style infiltrate-and-capture mission),…
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Hoppop’n
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Anonymous Hoppop’n is a cute and unique anime action game that is strangely addictive despite repetitive gameplay and level design. From the review at Otaku World: “This is one of those strange games that seem to only originate in…
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Zany Golf
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Will Harvey GAME DEVELOPER:Sandcastle GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1988, Will Harvey Zany Golf is a great miniature golf game that even today ranks as one of the best games of its kind. It?s worth noting that the game was designed by Will Harvey, one of Electronic…
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Reflection
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1997, Anonymous Yet another fun freeware shooter from Japan?apparently a very prolific and lively community for action game developers. Reflection has no plot to speak of, or even twists to the age-old shoot-everything-in-sight concept. What it does offer, however, is…
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Dracula in London (Windows)
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steven Jones GAME DEVELOPER:SDJ Enterprises GAME PUBLISHER:SDJ Enterprises Copyright 1993, SDJ Enterprises This is the enhanced Windows 3.1 version of SDJs underrated Dracula in London board/adventure game hybrid, first released in 1993. As MobyGames points out, “…the ASCII graphics and CGI color have been replaced with…
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Pure Fighter Erika
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Yoshix GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Yoshix Pure Fighter Erika is a great anime shooter that features a first-person perspective a la Space Harrier –quite unusual for the genre. You play a round cat who shoots wrenches (monkey wrenches, to be exact) at invading hordes…
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Bionic Commando
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:CAPCOM GAME PUBLISHER:CAPCOM Copyright 1988, CAPCOM Heralded as a pseudo-sequel to Commando, Bionic Commando is an excellent “realistic” action game that is a far cry from cutesy platformers of the time that require nothing more than reflexes. You play Ladd, a rookie soldier tasked…
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Tenshindo
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Anonymous WARNING: This game contains sexual scenes that are not appropriate for kids. Please use your judgment before playing the game! Tenshindo (a.k.a. Queen of Tinshendo ’95) is a fun Hentai card game with a bit more class and…
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Starships Unlimited
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andrew Ewanchyna GAME DEVELOPER:ApeZone GAME PUBLISHER:ApeZone Copyright 2001, Andrew Ewanchyna One of the most underrated and unknown “4X” space strategy games ever made, Starships Unlimited is an incredibly addictive game that plays like a unique cross between Master of Orion and Homeworld. The game claims to…
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Barbarian (Mastertronic)
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Garvan Corbett & David Lawson GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1989, Mastertronic One of the worst platform games ever made and definitely a low point in Mastertronics varied career. Barbarian (not to be confused with the excellent game of the same name from Palace Software) casts…
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Blitz Try
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Compile GAME PUBLISHER:Compile Copyright 1998, Compile Blitz Try is yet another excellent anime action game from Compile, one of Japan?s best-kept secrets 😉 Your goal: race three laps around a platform-style side-scrolling course against computer-controlled characters. As one can expect from Compile, the graphics…
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Zyconix
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Delvin Sorrell & Craig Wight GAME DEVELOPER:Accolade GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1992, Accolade Zyconix is a fun Tetris/Columns clone with some new ideas. Instead of controlling the falling tiles themselves, you have to catch the tiles and can control one, when caught. There are also some nice…
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Games: Winter Challenge, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Benna & Jeff Sember GAME DEVELOPER:MindSpan GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1991, Accolade Despite being more than a decade old, The Games: Winter Challenge remains today one of the best winter sport games ever made. In the same spirit as the popular Epyx sports series, Winter Challenge…
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Games: Summer Challenge, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Benna & Jeff Sember GAME DEVELOPER:MindSpan GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1992, Accolade The Games: Summer Challenge is a worthy sequel to MindSpan/Accolades classic Winter Challenge, this time based on Summer Olympics games. Similar to its predecessor, Summer Challenge lets you compete in 8 different events, each…
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Super Ski 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Christian Bertrand GAME DEVELOPER:Microids GAME PUBLISHER:Microids Copyright 1990, Microids One of the most underrated sports games for the PC, Microids Super Ski 2 (marketed in the USA as Downhill Challenge by Broderbund) is a solid skiing game that offers a good variety of skiing events, graphics,…
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Hardball II
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Distinctive Software GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1989, Accolade Sequel to Accolade’s breakthrough Hardball baseball game, and first PC version in the long-running series that ended with Hardball VI. Unlike the later games which were designed by MindSpan, this one was developed by Distinctive Software. In…
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Hardball III
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Benna & Jeff Sember GAME DEVELOPER:MindSpan GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1992, Accolade The third game in Accolade’s famous baseball series, Hardball III was the first baseball game developed by Canadian company MindSpan for Accolade. The leap between Hardball II and this game is even much bigger…
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Hardball IV
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Benna & Jeff Sember GAME DEVELOPER:MindSpan GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1994, Accolade Fourth entry in Accolade’s popular baseball series developed by MindSpan, a follow-up to HardBall III. HardBall IV features crisp SVGA graphics and the same HardBall-style gameplay fans have come to know and love. Aside…
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Mike Ditka Ultimate Football
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Accolade GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1991, Accolade Mike Ditka Ultimate Football is a decent (American) football simulation, with the usual different play-modes such as single matches, play-offs and complete seasons. You also have the option to practice parts of the game, and there’s a tool…
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Teenage Queen
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ERE Informatique GAME PUBLISHER:ERE Informatique Copyright 1988, ERE Informatique Most likely the worst game from quirky French developer ERE Informatique (which later became Cryo Interactive), Teenage Queen is a strip poker– nothing more, nothing less. But ERE games are nothing if not unique, and…
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Jaws
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Box Office GAME PUBLISHER:Box Office Copyright 1989, Box Office Jaws is an ambitious shark hunting simulation based on the Steven Spielburg blockbuster movie of the same name. In contrast to most fishing games, the goal in Jaws is very narrow: hunt for big sharks…
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F-14 Tomcat
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1990, Dynamix F-14 Tomcat is a fun early flight-sim by Dynamix. Despite the name, the game is actually an arcade game with some simulation elements. This means that the game is much closer to, say, Apache Strike than Falcon 3.0…
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Nighthawk: F117-A Stealth Fighter 2.0
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeffery Briggs GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1991, MicroProse The more or less average sequel to F-19 Stealth Fighter. From MobyGames description: “take America’s premiere stealth fighter out for a spin in several battle areas, including the Persian Gulf, Cuba, and even Vietnam. There are various…
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Pinball Dreams 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Spidersoft GAME PUBLISHER:21st Century Entertainment Copyright 1995, 21st Century Entertainment A competent PC pinball game designed by Spidersoft. Contrary to what most people believe, Swedish developer Digital Illusions who designed the original pinball classic Pinball Dreams did not design this sequel– Spidersoft designed it…
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Rampage
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brian Colin & Jeff Nauman GAME DEVELOPER:Monarch Development GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1988, Bally Midway Rampage is a decent PC conversion of Bally/Midway’s popular arcade game. This is a side-scrolling action game for up to 3 players, in which you, mutated into a giant monster, have to…
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Sargon V: World Class Chess
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dan Spracklen GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1991, Activision Sargon V is a solid chess game with outstanding training options and good presentation, offering both 2D and 3D boards. Billed a chess game for expert, the game indeed plays a very good game of chess, with…
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Residence 44 Quest
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rinze Laat & Jinwo Verluys GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Rinze Laat & Jinwo Verluys Residence 44 Quest is a fun fanmade adventure game created with AGI Studios, a program that allows you to create text-parser-with-graphics game in the same style as Sierra’s oldie adventures…
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Grand Prix Manager
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edward Grabowski GAME DEVELOPER:Edcom GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1995, Edcom Grand Prix Manager (GPM) is an excellent Formula One management simulation for Windows, one of the first commercial ones of its kind. GPM is not an F-1 driving game. Rather, it’s an F-1 *management* game. You don’t…