Author: admin
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Necrodome
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Foster GAME DEVELOPER:Raven Software GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1996, Raven Software Necrodome is an excellent futuristic sport game that is ranks among Raven Softwares most underrated titles. The description on the games official page says it all about what makes the game original,…
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Structural Engineering Challenge
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeremy Cordrey GAME DEVELOPER:Method Computing GAME PUBLISHER:Method Computing Copyright 1999, Method Computing Structural Engineering Challenge is a very good shareware game that simulates custom-built truss structures under load. It is basically a more serious and less accessible simulation than Pontifex, being designed with students in mind.…
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Eastside Hockey Manager
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Risto Remes GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Risto Remes Eastside Hockey Manager is a great NHL management game. A true work of love, it took almost 2 years to be released – and all the effort shows off when you get to play it. There…
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Wipeout XL
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1996, Psygnosis Definitely one of the best futuristic racing games ever made, Wipeout XL not only once again cements Psygnosis’ reputation as the powerhouse of action genre, but also introduces many novelties to the genre. The game takes place 97…
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Uplink
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Introversion GAME PUBLISHER:Introversion Copyright 2001, Introversion In my humble opinion the best futuristic hacking game ever made since Neuromancer, Uplink is an incredibly addictive game of high tech computer crime and industrial espionage on the Internet of 2010. As the official description goes, “…you…
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Color Attack
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Axel Meierhoefer GAME DEVELOPER:XLM Software GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, XLM Software Color Attack is a Space Invaders clone with an interesting puzzle twist. Before each new level, the game tells you how many alien ships (“Objects”) of each color must be destroyed, as well as…
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Crazy Gravity
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Axel Meierhoefer GAME DEVELOPER:XLM Software GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Webfoot Technologies Crazy Gravity is a great rocket-flying game similar to Gravity Force for the Commodore 64. The goal is simple: fly through a system of caverns with your silver spaceship, take freight on board, and…
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Farocar
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roy Manz GAME DEVELOPER:Webfoot Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Webfoot Technologies Farocar is a fun brainteaser that is similar to classic Soko-Ban, except the levels are not as imaginative. Your objective is to control the ?car? with the arrow keys to push all the game…
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SubHunt
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Parberry GAME DEVELOPER:Webfoot Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Ian Parberry SubHunt is a fun 3D submarine action game designed by professor Ian Parberry and a team of his students at the University of North Texas Recreational Computer Laboratory (which was one of the first…
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Wrigglers
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jean-Michel Martin GAME DEVELOPER:Webfoot Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Webfoot Technologies Wrigglers is a fun reflex-oriented puzzler that places the concept of Snake/Nibbles in a puzzle-based environment. The concept is simple: you are a worm (“wriggler”) who must eat all the food on each level.…
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B.A.D.
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:PseuDOS GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, PseuDOS A lackluster side-scrolling shooter from Webfoot — one of the worst from this prolific shareware publisher. Not much good to speak of for this clunky shooter designed by Pseudos: boring ship designs, boring levels, and a quite…
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Fourth Generation, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul D’India GAME DEVELOPER:Webfoot Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Paul D’India The Fourth Generation is a decent side-scrolling shooter from Webfoot that looks good, plays good, but unfortunately is too repetitive to go up against the likes of Gradius. The game can be played in…
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Ten Nights of Killing and Mayhem at F.J.B.
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Schiller & Jeff Sinasac GAME DEVELOPER:Little Devils GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Little Devils One of the most unique strategy games you’ll ever play, Ten Nights of Killing and Mayhem at F.J.B. is a turn-based squad-level game similar to X-COM, but with many unique twists. The…
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Ball Race
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Carl McLawhorn GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1988, Carl McLawhorn Ball Race is a unique racing game from Carl McLawhorn, most famous for his multiplayer Trek game in the early 1980s. The game basically lets you race a ball (which looks like a billiard ball) against…
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DRroboWHOids
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jouni Miettunen GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Jouni Miettunen DRroboWHOids (a name that makes you want to scream at the designer) is a great PC remake of Daleks, a classic UNIX puzzle game that got a new life on the Macintosh as Classic Daleks. In…
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Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dan Richardson GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Dan Richardson This is the excellent PC remake of Jet Set Willy II, a good sequel to the classic Spectrum game that is unfortunately not as fun to play as the original The game is more or less…
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Deflektor
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Costa Panayi & Ignacio Gil GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Ignacio Gil Deflektor is an excellent PC remake of the original (well, back then it was) and difficult puzzle game designed by Costa Panayi first for the Spectrum computers. The idea is to rotate various…
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Little Fighter 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Marti Wong GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Marti Wong Little Fighter 2 is an outstanding sequel to Little Fighter, one of the best beat-em up games ever made, bar none. Like the original classic, Little Fighter 2 is cute, charming, incredibly addictive, and free 😉…
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Speed
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Knowledge Adventure GAME PUBLISHER:Knowledge Adventure Copyright 1993, Knowledge Adventure Third in Knowledge Adventures database-cum-game series, Speed is a fun edutainment title created around a great IMAX film of the same name, which unfortunately is no longer in the theatres. Similar to Knowledge Adventure and…
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WarHeads
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ionos Productions GAME PUBLISHER:ionos Productions Copyright 1997, ionos Productions WarHeads is a simple but very addictive shareware game from ionos Publishing, done in the vein of the classic artillery duels of early computing days. The game is set in an unexplored quadrant of space,…
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Exotic Car Showroom
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Capstone GAME PUBLISHER:Capstone Copyright 1992, Capstone One of the more obscure releases from Capstone, and for good reason, Exotic Car Showroom is an average application that showcases a few car makes, without any game element. Unlike Ford Simulator that lets you test drive new…
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Interphase
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Image Works GAME PUBLISHER:Image Works Copyright 1991, Image Works Interphase is an average action game from Mirrorsoft that disappointingly squanders the license of Neuromancer, classic cyberpunk novel it was based on. Interphase offers two gameplay modes: a typical 2D view of the building you…
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Quadnet
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Brainchild Design GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Brainchild Design Oh no – Robotron has escaped his familiar walled enclosure and robotic badguys: and is running amok in a Tron Lightcycle! Quick, bounce rubber balls at him!” This is sort of what Quadnet is like. But…
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Spellcross
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cauldron GAME PUBLISHER:Sales Curve Interactive Copyright 1998, Cauldron Spellcross is a fun but sadly-ignored turn-based fantasy/sci-fi strategy game that is well worth attention of both fans of Warhammer 40K: Final Liberation and Emperor of the Fading Suns. In this unique strategy game, you are…
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Medieval Warriors
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Lamb GAME DEVELOPER:Merit Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Merit Studios Copyright 1991, Merit Studios The fantasy version of Operation Com*Bat, a dismal turn-based wargame from Merit Studios. Read my review of that game — everything I said applies to Medieval Warriors since it’s based on the same engine.…
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Gnome Alone
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stephen Curtis GAME DEVELOPER:Visionaires GAME PUBLISHER:Visionaires Copyright 1992, Visionaires Gnome Alone is a little-known PC conversion of a little-known Amiga game, developed by UK house Visionaires. In this unique action/strategy game, you play a gnome who, other than being alone, is trying to keep his garden…
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Kingdom at War
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Interscan GAME PUBLISHER:Manaccom Copyright 1992, Interscan At first glance, Kingdoms at War looks like just another fantasy/medieval strategy game in the same vein as Warlords or Dominus. But spend some time with it, and you will discover a lot of nice little details that…
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Defender of The Faith
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Gossett GAME DEVELOPER:Solid Rock GAME PUBLISHER:Solid Rock Copyright 1992, David Gossett Defender of The Faith is a unique action game based on the story of King David in the Bible. The game is broken into six platform-style levels, each based on an episode in David’s…
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Virtual Stratton
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Slingshot GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Slingshot Virtual Stratton is an excellent freeware snowboarding game created to promote the town of Stratton in Vermont, USA. For once, the official blurb is not hyperbole: “Stratton provided the mountain and Slingshot provided its expertise in building video…
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Dawgfight
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Greg Malone GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1992, SoftDisk Publishing Dawgfight is a fun, tongue-in-cheek arcade-oriented flight sim is set in the Western town of Hatfield. It’s County Fair time, and you decided to participate in the biplane contest with your trusty WW1 fighter.…
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Battlestar
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dan Harrison GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1992, SoftDisk Publishing Battlestar is a competent PC version of popular Battleship board game — no more, no less. The game replaces the ships with nice-looking spaceships, but otherwise the gameplay remains identical: try to correctly guess…
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Darwin’s Dilemma
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Inline Design GAME PUBLISHER:Inline Design Copyright 1990, Inline Design One of the most unique and addictive puzzle game Ive ever come across but also sadly one of the most obscure, Darwins Dilemma is slightly derivative of the old Evolution game, but is much more…
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Destruction Derby 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Martin Edmondson GAME DEVELOPER:Reflections Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1996, Psygnosis Destruction Derby 2 is the arguably superior sequel to the original Destruction Derby that offers more of the same no-holds-barred action and mayhem with new tracks and many improvements and features not seen in the original,…
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Delta Hydra
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Webfoot Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Webfoot Technologies Copyright 1997, Webfoot Technologies Delta Hydra is a decent 4X strategy/action game where you compete against rival space agencies in a race to gain control of the Delta Hydra solar system. The plot: three Terran space agencies (ULSA, SEAM,…
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Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Currie GAME DEVELOPER:Sir-Tech GAME PUBLISHER:Sir-Tech Copyright 1995, Sir-Tech Released after Jagged Alliance, Deadly Games is more appropriately called a “stand-alone add-on” rather than a true sequel to that classic (similar to X-COM 2). The addictive tactical turn-based gameplay remains intact, but Deadly Games is not…
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Darius Gaiden
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Taito GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1999, Taito Darius Gaiden is an excellent albeit 5-years-late Windows conversion of Taito?s 1994 hit arcade shoot ?em up of the same name. The plot is inconsequential, but anyway: your objective is to take back the planet Darius from the…
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Worlds at War
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Almberg GAME DEVELOPER:RAW Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:RAW Entertainment Copyright 1990, RAW Entertainment Worlds at War is a lackluster space war game that tries to compete with SSG?s classic Reach for The Stars by offering some new features, but is ultimately marred by a poor user interface…
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Moments Out of Time
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:L. Ross Raszewski GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, L. Ross Raszewski Moments Out of Time is the well-deserved second place winner in the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition. Although not an original game, Moments Out of Time has all the elements that make traditional Infocom-style…
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Heroes
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sean Barrett GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Sean Barrett One of my favorite games in the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition and a well-deserved third place winner of that competition, Heroes is a wonderful, innovative IF that manages to convey all the trappings of traditional…
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All Roads
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jon Ingold GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Jon Ingold Winner of the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition by a considerably large margin, All Roads is a very well-written and captivating tale of intrigue set in historic Venice. Similar to Adam Cadre’s Vericella but with a…
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No Time To Squeal
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Sousa & Robb Sherwin GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Mike Sousa & Robb Sherwin My second most favorite game in the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition, No Time To Squeal is an outstanding collaboration effort between Mike Sousa and Robb Sherwin (the latter one…
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Vicious Cycles
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Simon Mark GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Simon Mark My favorite underdog of the the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition alone with Fine Tuned, Vicious Cycles is a great retrospective game about terrorism that unfortunately will leave a bitter “aftertaste” for anyone who is still…
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Stiffy Makane: The Undiscovered Country
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Adam Thornton GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Adam Thornton Stiffy Makane: The Undiscovered Country by One of the Bruces (aka Adam Thornton) is a hilarious game that manages to do what many commercial games failed: poke fun of an offensive/controversial genre by becoming one of…
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Fine Tuned
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dennis Jerz GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Dennis Jerz My favorite underdog of the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition, Fine Tuned is a charming, very atmospheric game that unfortunately has far too many bugs in the second half to fulfill its potential. (although they have…
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Best of Three
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Emily Short GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Emily Short Best of Three is a great game by Emily Short, author of Galatea and Pytho’s Mask, who continues to expand and improve her revolutionary menu-based conversation system. The problem is that you can only talk to…
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Beetmonger’s Journal, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Starkey GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Scott Starkey The Beetmonger’s Journal is a fun, relaxing entry in the 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition, with some interesting (albeit easy) puzzles and solid writing, although the ending “fizzles” a little bit given the promising start. Demian…