Author: admin
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Boulderdash
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Peter Liepa GAME DEVELOPER:First Star GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1984, First Star In 1984, First Star released a low profile, unassuming puzzler called Boulderdash that would become the company’s best selling series and sparked numerous clones even decades after its release. The game could perhaps best…
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Boulderdash 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Peter Liepa GAME DEVELOPER:First Star GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1986, First Star In 1984, First Star released a low profile, unassuming puzzler called Boulderdash that would become the company’s best selling series and sparked numerous clones even decades after its release. The game could perhaps best…
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Rockford
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Peter Liepa GAME DEVELOPER:Synergistic Software GAME PUBLISHER:Mastertronic Copyright 1987, First Star Last and best in Peter Liepa’s Boulderdash series that achieved immortal fame on just about every computer system except the PC. Released by Mastertronic/Prism Leisure, Rockford is a great rocks’n’diamonds style game in the best…
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Ramses
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Christian Awizio GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Christian Awizio A fun, tongue-in-cheek simulation of Egypt empire, Ramses is a decent freeware game that tackles one of the most ignored topics: simulating ancient economies. Although the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, or purport to be…
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Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu Warrior
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Positive GAME PUBLISHER:Positive Copyright 1990, Positive Average kung fu fighting game that pales beside the likes of Bushido and Epyx’s classic World Karate Championship due mostly to awkward controls. Choy Lee Fut does have many high points that are worth mentioning, including detailed graphics…
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Conqueror AD 1086
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Software Sorcery GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1996, Software Sorcery Yet another game that proves beyond all doubt how great graphics does not automatically make a good game. Ostentatiously a spiritual successor to Cinemaware’s Defender of The Crown, Conqueror AD 1086 offers little more than…
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CD-Man
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Atilla Baro & Anders Moree GAME DEVELOPER:Creative Dimensions GAME PUBLISHER:Creative Dimensions Copyright 1992, Creative Dimensions One of the world’s most recognizable arcade game character Pac-Man finds a new form in this very cute clone. CD-Man features 5 different worlds, each featuring nicely-drawn graphics in high-res EGA…
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Summer Olympiad
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Phillip Scot & Mike Croft GAME DEVELOPER:TyneSoft GAME PUBLISHER:TyneSoft Copyright 1988, TyneSoft This is probably the worst sport game Tynesoft ever made. Given the company’s excellent track record in sport games (e.g. Stunt Car Racer), this means Summer Olympiad isn’t very bad– it just doesn’t live…
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Winter Olympiad
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Atilla Baro & Anders Moree GAME DEVELOPER:TyneSoft GAME PUBLISHER:TyneSoft Copyright 1988, TyneSoft Tynesoft’s last attempt at a sport tournament game is a much better attempt than Summer Olympiad, mainly because the range of sports they select are much more adaptable to computer games– meaning the events…
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Gauntlet
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Atari Games GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1988, Atari Games MobyGames entry says it all about one of the most celebrated arcade games of all time: “Gauntlet, the original arcade smash hit, is fighting game where you choose a character a let rip into the hordes…
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Gauntlet II
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Mindscape GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1989, Mindscape MobyGames description of this excellent sequel to Gauntlet: “Based on the arcade game, Gauntlet II is very similar to the original. Up to four players (a wizard, a warrior, an elf, and a valkyre) make their way through…
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Cisco Heat
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Image Works GAME PUBLISHER:Image Works Copyright 1990, Image Works It’s time for the annual police race through the streets of San Francisco. Cisco Heat is a dead average racing game in which you must beat the clock and reach the next checkpoint in time.…
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Chickie Egg
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve McCrea GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Steve McCrea Excellent unofficial PC conversion of Chuckie Egg, one of the all-time classics on 8-bit machines, e.g. the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. If you’ve never played this game, you don’t know what you’re missing. The goal…
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E-Motion
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Adrian Stephens & John Dale GAME DEVELOPER:Assembly Line, The GAME PUBLISHER:US Gold Copyright 1990, US Gold E-Motion (E for Einstein) is a nice little action-strategy game developed by The Assembly Line with fairly original gameplay. Quite hard to master, so probably not suited for everyone. The…
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Mad Mix
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Topo Soft GAME PUBLISHER:Topo Soft Copyright 1988, Topo Soft Mad Mix from Spanish developer Topo Soft was released as The Pepsi Challenge in the UK, although there isn’t anything related to Pepsi in the game. It’s a Pac-Man clone, but there are some, err,…
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Archimedean Dynasty
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Blue Byte GAME PUBLISHER:Blue Byte Copyright 1996, Blue Byte Back in the early nineties, before games were approved by committee, and when new and innovations were not only allowed, but encouraged, Blue Byte software, famed for its medieval resource-management game Settlers, and turn-based war-game…
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PaperBoy
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Atari Games GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1988, Elite Systems Competent PC conversion of one of the Atari’s best-known arcade games. If you were ever a paperboy when you were young, you’ll know how ungrateful your customers can be. You’ve got to deliver your papers to…
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PaperBoy 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tengen GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1991, Mindscape In this superior sequel to arcade classic PaperBoy, you are back to deliver some more papers to a not-so-friendly neighborhood. However, this time, you can also play as PaperGirl (so as not to be appear sexist, naturally). The…
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Uridium
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andrew Braybrook & Steve Turner GAME DEVELOPER:Hewson GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1988, Hewson Uridium is a fun, original fast scrolling shoot-’em-up that is much better known on the Commodore 64. In one of the “stock” sci-fi plots that we have heard a hundred times before, the plot…
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Playmaker Football
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1989, Brderbund Playmaker Football is little-known PC version of legendary football simulation for the Macintosh. One of the best American football management sims ever made, the game lets you decide a myriad of options, from “who to draft” on down…
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Playroom, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Leslie Grimm GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1989, Leslie Grimm The Playroom is designed to encourage children’s curiosity and then reward it with new discoveries. All the scenes take place in a child’s bedroom where the child clicks on a variety of different pictures that lead…
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Operation Harrier
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Creative Materials GAME PUBLISHER:US Gold Copyright 1990, US Gold One of US Gold’s most overlooked games, Operation Harrier is a fun top-down shooter that plays similar to EA’s Jungle Strike: it’s essentially an arcade-style game that puts you in control of a plane, shooting…
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Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Trevor Chan GAME DEVELOPER:Enlight Software GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1999, Enlight Software When Trevor Chan?s Seven Kingdoms came out in 1997, it took a lot of people by surprise, and was touted by many as the ?thinking man?s Warcraft.? The game features a great mix of…
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Oligopoly
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:XOR Corporation GAME PUBLISHER:XOR Corporation Copyright 1988, XOR Corporation One of the most unknown business simulation games ever made, Oligopoly from XOR is best described as a macro version of classic board game Monopoly: instead of plots of land in a city, you buy…
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007: License to Kill
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Domark GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1989, Domark 007: License to Kill is a great top-down shoot-em-up based on movie of the same name that stars Timothy Dalton as James Bond, the world?s most famous secret agent. The plot is identical to the movie: James Bond…
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Lords of Magic: Special Edition
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Beatrice GAME DEVELOPER:Impressions GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1998, Impressions One of the best strategy games ever made, Lords of Magic: Special Edition is an excellent fantasy strategy game that, much more so than G.O.D.’s overhyped Age of Wonder, deserves to be considered the true spiritual…
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Command Aces of The Deep
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Jones GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1995, Dynamix Command Aces of the Deep is an excellent Windows version of Dynamix? acclaimed WW2 submarine sim Aces of The Deep. Although CAOTD is too similar to its predecessor in terms of gameplay and scenarios, it goes…
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Incredible Toon Machine, The
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 Incredible Toon Machine is the sequel to Jeff Tunnell’s quirky Sid & Al’s Incredible Toons, updated for Windows 95 and enhanced with many new devious levels. As in the predecessor, ITM is…
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Rocky’s Boots
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Warren Robinett & Ann McCormick GAME DEVELOPER:Learning Company, The GAME PUBLISHER:Learning Company, The Copyright 1987, Learning Company, The Rocky’s Boots is an excellent educational game that teaches kids the basics of logic circuits that computers are based on. A true predecessor of better-known Robot Odyssey, Rockys…
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LASH
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul O’Brian GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Paul O’Brian One of the most ambitious IF titles ever made, LASH by Paul OBrian is an intriguing, highly literate game that strikes a fine balance between providing challenging puzzles and telling a compelling story. Although definitely the…
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Once and Future
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gary Wilson GAME DEVELOPER:Cascade Mountain Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Gary Wilson Uncontested winner of the longest time in development award for an IF title, Once and Future is a top-notch game by Gary Kevin Whizzard Wilson (GKW). First announced as Avalon in 1993, the author…
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Lethe Flow Phoenix
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dan Shiovitz GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1995, Dan Shiovitz One of the most atmospheric and well-written IF ever released, Lethe Flow Phoenix is a great game by Dan Shiovitz that is full of mystical overtones, dream-like surrealism, and several nice plot twists. The game begins…
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Halothane
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ravi Rajkumar GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Ravi Rajkumar One of the best games of the 1999 IF competition, Halothane is an excellent blend of modernism, mystery, and a lot of quirky sense of humor. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than Winter Wonderland,…
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Best Man, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rob Menke GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Rob Menke The Best Man is one of the best games from the 6th Annual IF Competition definitely the best IF competition ever, judging from how many entries I like (close to half of the 53 total). Instead…
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Letters from Home
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roger Firth GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Roger Firth Letters from Home is a fun puzzle-intensive IF based on the English lexicon. Similar to other puzzle-heavy IF such as The Magic Toyshop, the plot is virtually nonexistent. But also similar to the best of the…
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YAGWAD
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Kean GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, John Kean One of the most underrated entries in the 6th Annual IF Competition, YAGWAD by John Kean is a wonderful tongue-in-cheek sendup of the clich?s in medieval fantasy games. Among other things, it features excellent ASCII art…
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Downtown Tokyo, Present Day
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Kean GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, John Kean Downtown Tokyo, Present Day is a very short game even by the 2-hour limit of the IF Competition, but is very funny, entertaining, and even innovative. As usual, Paul OBrians got the best scoop on this…
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A Day for Soft Food
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Todd Levi GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Todd Levi A Day for Soft Food is a nice little IF Competition entry that casts you as one of the more unusual characters: a cat. Although this makes the game similar to Ralph, from the 1996 comp,…
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On The Farm
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lenny Pitts GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Lenny Pitts Another fun, feel-good game from the 1999 IF Competition that many overlooked On The Farm casts you as a small child who has just been sent to spend a few hours on grandparents farm. As usual,…
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Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Clayton Kauzlaric GAME DEVELOPER:Cavedog Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 1999, Cavedog Entertainment After the surprise success of Total Annihilation, it was hard to see how Cavedog would manage a successful follow-up. Sadly, they didn’t. TA: Kingdoms was a massive commercial flop, most people see it as…
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Solitaire Royale
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brad Fregger GAME DEVELOPER:Publishing International GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1987, Publishing International Excellent solitaire game with high historical value. In the designer?s own words at MobyGames: Solitaire Royale is ?…the first commercial instance of Card Solitaire on the PC and Macintosh. There are 8 different solitaire…
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For A Change
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dan Schmidt GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Dan Schmidt Second-place winner in the 5th Annual IF Competition, and deservedly so. Mark Musantes eloquent review says it all about what makes this modern-day post-modern drama so compelling: “This game has a lot to recommend. Its odd…
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Kissing The Buddha’s Feet
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Leon Lin GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Leon Lin One of the most underrated games in the 2nd Annual IF Competition, Leon Lins Kissing The Buddhas Feet is an excellent game about college life. Although the genre of seems already clinched, KTBF manages to strikes…
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One That Got Away, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Leon Lin GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1995, Leon Lin Leon Lins first IF release is among the most enjoyable story-focused IF titles I have played. Magnus Olssons review for SPAG says it all: “Among the joys of fishing, perhaps the greatest is telling about it…
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Phlegm
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jason Dyer GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Jason Dyer Paul OBrian, IF reviewer extraordinaire, says it all about Phlegm one of the most underrated entries in the 2nd Annual IF Competition: A thoroughly whacked-out romp through realms of surrealism only barely touched on by Nord…
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t-zero
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dennis Cunningham GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1992, Dennis Cunningham One of the most underrated IF titles ever made, t-zero is a great pun-filled game of epic proportions. Long before the advent of Inform and TADS, two popular modern-day IF authoring languages, t-zero features a powerful…
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Legend Lives!, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Baggett GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, David Baggett The Legend Lives! is an epic sci-fi masterpiece by David Baggett, author of the popular Unnkulian Unventure shareware series. Legend takes the Unnkulian Universe far into the future, where, despite mankind’s technological advances, the threat of…
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Persistence of Memory
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jason Dyer GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Jason Dyer One of the most compelling, “experimental” entries in the 1998 Annual IF Competition, Persistence of Memory is an evocative game that takes place in only one room for the whole game. You play a soldier, separated…
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Klaustrophobia
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Carol Hovick GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Carol Hovick One of the best, but also most frustratingly difficult, IF I’ve ever played. C.E. Forman’s review for XYZZYNews says it all about this quirky classic: “A winner in the 1994 AGT programming contest, the three-part epic…