Author: admin
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Zyclunt
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Phantagram GAME PUBLISHER:Phantagram Copyright 1996, Phantagram Zyclunt a fun anime side-scrolling platformer that not many people have heard about, mostly due to it being distributed only in shareware channels. The game is set in a dystopian future: in the year 2002 AD, planet earth…
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Lode Runner 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andrew Howat GAME DEVELOPER:Human Code GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 1998, GT Interactive Another classic puzzler that migrates to the 3D world, this time with an outstanding result. Lode Runner 2 is the sequel to the remake of Doug Smith’s timeless classic, and last in the series.…
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Front Lines
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Impressions GAME PUBLISHER:Impressions Copyright 1994, Impressions Front Lines is a hypothetical wargame that strongly resembles QQP’s venerable The Perfect General series, combining the elements of board game warfare with good graphics and sound. Set in the next century, the game simulates tactical-level ground combat,…
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Racter
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Thomas Etter & William Chamberlain GAME DEVELOPER:Inrac Corporation GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1984, Inrac Corporation Not really an interactive fiction game but rather one of the most intriguing piece of software ever created, Racter is one of the earliest commercial releases of computer intelligence– AI gibberish, so…
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Water Bird, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Athan Skelley GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Athan Skelley The Water Bird is a pleasant, original IF game based on the folklore of the Miwok Indians, who used to live in what is now Yosemite National Park in California. Similar to Bonnie Montgomery’s Firebird, The…
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Firebird
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Bonnie Montgomery GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Bonnie Montgomery One of the most unknown gems on the great IF archive at GMD, Firebird is a unique, original, and enjoyable game based on one of the most beloved Russian myths (which is also one of the…
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Lesson of The Tortoise, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gary Wilson GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1997, Gary Wilson The Lesson of The Tortoise is an enjoyable introductory-level IF game based on Chinese folktale of the same name. It’s short, easy, and tells a wonderful story– an ideal starting point for anyone new to the…
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Tintin on the Moon
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Probe Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1987, Georges Remi The first PC game to feature popular classic comic character Tintin, Tintin On The Moon is a competent conversion of classic Spectrum/Amstrad game of the same name. Based loosely on Explorers on the Moon episode, the…
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Final Assault
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Epyx GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1987, Epyx The first hiking game ever made for the PC and also one of the most ambitious, Final Assault (a.k.a. Chamonix Challenge, older European release) attempts to simulate the experience of hiking Western Europe?s largest peak Mont Blanc from…
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North & South
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1989, Infogrames North & South is a competent PC translation of Infogrames? most famous Amiga game. In simplest terms, it?s a tongue-in-cheeck American Civil War strategy-cum-arcade game, with characters from a popular French comic strip called Les Tuniques Bleues. The…
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Full Metal Planete
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1990, Infogrames One of the most underrated sci-fi strategy games ever made, Full Metal Planete is a wonderful hex-based games that successfully bridges the gap between serious wargames (e.g. Reach for The Stars) and light-weight strategy games (e.g. Nuclear War).…
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7 Colors
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Gamos GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1991, Gamos Simple solo or two-player brainteaser developed by Russian company GAMOS. Also known as Filler, which describes the game principle fairly well. You have to fill a board of different colored tiles starting from your corner by choosing from…
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Advantage Tennis
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1991, Infogrames Advantage Tennis is a fun tennis game by Infogrames that is a cut above average tennis games on the market. The idea is simple: starting at the bottom of top 100 players chart, you must defeat higher-seeded players…
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Great Courts
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lothar Schmitt GAME DEVELOPER:Blue Byte GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1989, Blue Byte Released in 1989 by Blue Byte, Great Courts is one of the first really enjoyable tennis games on home computers. Sure, it doesn’t have the VGA graphics and the great variety of options you’ll…
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Great Courts 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lothar Schmitt GAME DEVELOPER:Blue Byte GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1990, Blue Byte Great tennis simulation by Blue Byte, offering nice gameplay, good graphics and sound (although lacking the samples and speech of the Amiga game), a great tournament mode, player profiles and very fun doubles matches.…
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Lost Tribe, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Frank Andrews GAME DEVELOPER:Lawrence Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Lawrence Productions Copyright 1992, Lawrence Productions One of the best and most unique edutainment titles ever made, The Lost Tribe is a fun survival simulation that is reminiscent of MECC’s Oregon Trail, but with much more sophisticated gameplay. The premise:…
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Lotus III
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andrew Morris & Shaun Southern GAME DEVELOPER:Magnetic Fields GAME PUBLISHER:Gremlin Copyright 1993, Magnetic Fields Third part of Magnetic Fields’ great arcade-style racing game series – the only one converted to the PC. And what a great conversion it is. Really refreshing! Although the last part of…
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Continuing Adventures of CyberBox, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edward Collins GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Edward Collins One of the most original– but sadly unknown– puzzlers ever made, freeware or otherwise, The Continuing Adventures of CyberBox is a great Sokoban variant that is very innovative and ingenious. Based on 1991’s CyberBox, Edward Collins’…
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Journey to The Center of The Earth
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Greg Hassett GAME DEVELOPER:Chip GAME PUBLISHER:Chip Copyright 1990, Chip One of the most obscure strategy games ever made, Journey to The Center of The Earth is an interesting but frustratingly difficult adventure/strategy/action hybrid based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Jules Vernes. As…
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A.G.E.
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tomahawk GAME PUBLISHER:Coktel Vision Copyright 1991, Coktel Vision Galactic Empire and its sequel A.G.E. (= Advanced Galactic Empire) are early first-person space/adventure hybrid from Coktel Vision. Both games sports a fast 3D engine with beautiful graphics – as one could expect from Tomahawk/Coktel Vision.…
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African Raiders
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tomahawk GAME PUBLISHER:Coktel Vision Copyright 1986, Coktel Vision Ancient CGA rally racing game by Tomahawk, set in the isolated deserts of Africa. There’s not much else I can say about that 🙂 The cars look nice, and the tracks are decent. Gets repetitive very…
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No Exit
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Tomahawk Copyright 1990, Coktel Vision No Exit is an oldie beat’em up by French developer Tomahawk (later Coktel Vision). While it doesn’t offer much long-term play value, it’s still quite an interesting karate game that stands out from other games with…
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Galactic Empire
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Tomahawk Copyright 1989, Coktel Vision Galactic Empire and its sequel A.G.E. (= Advanced Galactic Empire) are early first-person space/adventure hybrid from Coktel Vision. Both games sports a fast 3D engine with beautiful graphics – as one could expect from Tomahawk/Coktel Vision.…
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Oliver & Company
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Coktel Vision Copyright 1989, Coktel Vision A fairly mediocre jump’n run based on Disney’s movie of the same name, which is in turn based on Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist. In this Dalmation 101 wannabe, you play Oliver, a cat who…
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Speed Racer: The Challenge of Racer X
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Accolade GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1992, Accolade “The Mach-5 is the most complex and ingenious car ever built, a tribute to my father’s imagination, genius, and technical skill!” — Speed Racer Japan’s Mach GoGoGo [retitled Speed Racer outside Japan] anime gained cultish popularity in the…
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Blackthorne
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ronald Millar GAME DEVELOPER:Blizzard Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1994, Blizzard Entertainment Blackthorne is an excellent action/adventure hybrid in the same vein as Delphine’s celebrated Out of This World. Probably the most underrated, overlooked game from Blizzard (made before the company became famous with WarCraft series), the…
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Fathom It!
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Moshe Rubin GAME DEVELOPER:Mountain Vista GAME PUBLISHER:Mountain Vista Copyright 1999, Mountain Vista Fathom It! is a fun and addictive puzzler that is an excellent computer version of “Battleships,” a popular column that appears in GAMES magazine, among others. The game is best described as a more…
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Karateka
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jordan Mechner GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1986, Brderbund One of the first fighting games ever made, Karateka is an excellent side-scrolling gem that catapulted Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia series) to fame and fortune. The plot: as a trained master Karateka, you must invade the…
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Super Ski
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Microids GAME PUBLISHER:Microids Copyright 1988, Microids First in a series of decent skiing games that ended with Super Ski 3, Microids’ Super Ski is a fun and surprisingly realistic CGA skiing game. The graphics look crisp and clear — no small feat given the…
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18th Airborne
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Information GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Information Copyright 1993, Spectrum Information 18th Airborne is a fun and hugely underrated (and unknown) action/strategy game from Taiwanese developer Spectrum Information. Although it looks like a typical top-down two-player frag fest, 18th Airborne is very different from your ordinary…
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3D Cyberpuck
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Teacy GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1992, Teacy One of the more obscure shareware titles by Webfoot, 3D Cyberpuck is a decent futuristic sports game that utilizes good 3D graphics and fluid controls. Best described as a cross between hockey and soccer, your goal in…
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Outpost
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Bruce Balfour GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1994, Sierra On-Line Outpost is one of the most over-hyped and worst fiascos in Sierra’s history, and a game so poorly executed it should never have been released. How awful is the game? Ty Brewer says it…
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Outpost 2: Divided Destiny
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Patrick Cook GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1997, Sierra On-Line One of the most amazing turnarounds in computer gaming history, Outpost 2: Divided Destiny is a great space strategy game that is everything its awful predecessor was not: a solid and entertaining conquer-the-universe game with…
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Onslaught
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hewson GAME PUBLISHER:Hewson Copyright 1990, Hewson Onslaught is an okay platform game from Hewson that is not as original as their masterpiece Nebulus. Essentially, your character must battle his way through sideways scrolling screens of attacking hordes and reach the enemy banner. As the…
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Warlords Battlecry
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Studies Group (SSG) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 2000, Strategic Studies Group (SSG) Warlords Battlecry is the last and undoubtedly most underrated entry in SSGs celebrated Warlords series, long heralded as the best fantasy wargames for die-hard wargamers everywhere. Battlecry marks a…
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X-COM: Apocalypse
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Julian Gollop GAME DEVELOPER:Mythos Games GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1997, MicroProse After disappointing fans of X-COM (or UFO: Enemy Unknown in Europe) with Terrors from The Deep, the uninspired sequel that should have been sold as an add-on, Julian Gollop and his team at Mythos Games brought…
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Biing!
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:reLINE Software GAME PUBLISHER:reLINE Software Copyright 1995, reLINE Software Similar to Bullfrogs better-known Theme Hospital, Biing! is a humorous Germanonly business simulation about running a hospital and making money by treating patients from more or less weird illnesses and injuries. But thats where the…
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3D Construction Kit 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Andrew & Paul Gregory GAME DEVELOPER:Incentive GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1992, Incentive 3D Construction Kit 2 (3DCK2) is a great sequel to Incentive/Domarks 3D Construction Kit, released a year earlier. As with the first title, 3DCK2 isnt really a game but a powerful application that lets…
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World Championship Boxing Manager
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Goliath Games GAME PUBLISHER:Krisalis Copyright 1990, Goliath Games World Championship Boxing Manager (WCBM) is a great sport game by Goliath Games that not only pioneered the niche genre of boxing simulation, but also stands today as one of the best games of its kind…
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Idinaloq
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Namikaze Project GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Namikaze Project One of the best anime shooters I?ve ever played, Idinaloq is an amazing game that boasts an incredibly high production value that would have justified its release as a commercial game. But fortunately for us, Namikaze…
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Club Racquetball
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Virgin Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1991, Virgin Interactive No doubt one of the most obscure Macintosh games ever made, Virgin Mastertronics Club Racquetball is a solid computer version of one of the worlds “niche” sports — racquetball, a distant cousin to squash. For…
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Trust and Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Crawford GAME DEVELOPER:Mindscape GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1987, Chris Crawford Trust and Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot is an obscure gem by Chris Crawford, creator of the acclaimed political simulation Balance of Power. Billed as the worlds first narrative game, Siboot does fulfill this cryptic promise:…
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Espana: The Games ’92
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:OCEAN GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1993, OCEAN Espana: The Games 92 is a fun game based on the 1992 Summer Olympics Games at Barcelona, Spain (hence the name Espana in the title). Although it pales besides Epyx more polished The Games: Summer Edition despite having…
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International Open Golf Championship
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:OCEAN GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1991, OCEAN International Open Golf Championship is a solid but relatively unknown golf sim by OCEAN sponsored by Pringles (yes, that crunchy snack were all familiar with), who also sponsor many annual golf tournaments. While there is only one course…
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Castles
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Bennie GAME DEVELOPER:Interplay GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1991, Interplay Perhaps the first truly accessible strategy game about the Middle Ages, Castles is a classic from Interplay that offers many hours of addictive gameplay. As a prominent English noble living in the 12th century, your mission is…
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Castles II: Siege and Conquest
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Quicksilver GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1992, Interplay Follow-up to Interplay?s classic Castles, Castles II: Siege and Conquest is an excellent sequel that expands both scale and scope of the original classic. No longer are you a noble who is content with defending your own territory…