Author: admin
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Peter Pan & Robin Hood Fairy Tale Factory
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hi-Tech Expressions GAME PUBLISHER:Hi-Tech Expressions Copyright 1989, Hi-Tech Expressions Peter Pan & Robin Hood Fairy Tale Factory is yet another lackluster offering in Hi-Tech’s line of entertainment titles for kids. The idea of the program is simple: kids can choose characters from Peter Pan…
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Poker Solitaire
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eduardo Martins GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1992, Eduardo Martins Poker Solitaire is a great PC version of the fun solitaire game of the same name, sometimes called Poker Squares, which rewards both lucky guessing and accurate calculation of odds. Unlike most solitaires, where you’re working…
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Incredible
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ray Zimmerman GAME DEVELOPER:Computer Specialties GAME PUBLISHER:Computer Specialties Copyright 1993, Computer Specialties Incredible and Fascination from ComSpec are fun and quite original solitaire games, although they don’t have much replay value beyond the first few games. The object of the games are similar: in Incredible, you…
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Fascination (ComSpec)
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ray Zimmerman GAME DEVELOPER:Computer Specialties GAME PUBLISHER:Computer Specialties Copyright 1993, Computer Specialties Incredible and Fascination from ComSpec are fun and quite original solitaire games, although they don’t have much replay value beyond the first few games. The object of the games are similar: in Incredible, you…
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Ultimate Cards
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Grosch & Dave Grosch GAME DEVELOPER:Magicode GAME PUBLISHER:Micro League Copyright 1992, Magicode Ultimate Cards is a decent card game from Magicode/Micro League that offers the usual array of multiplayer card games, including Spades, Hearts, Gin Rummy, Oh Hell!, Whilst, and Crazy 8’s. The game offers…
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Berenstain Bears’ Learning Essentials
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Compton’s Newmedia GAME PUBLISHER:Compton’s Newmedia Copyright 1992, Compton’s Newmedia Released by Compton’s Newmedia in 1992, Berenstain Bears Learning Essentials is an edutainment program that targets preshoolers, starring characters from the famous children books of the same name. The program is a compilation of three…
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Storybook Weaver
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MECC GAME PUBLISHER:MECC Copyright 1992, MECC Yet another excellent edutainment title from MECC, Storybook Weaver is the perfect incentive for developing writing skills, allowing children to express their creativity with pictures and sounds. Storybook Weaver is designed for kids who want more than just…
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Starclash 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stephen Walton GAME DEVELOPER:Baen Software GAME PUBLISHER:Simon & Schuster Copyright 1983, Stephen Walton Starclash II is an excellent game of galactic conquest that unfortunately doesn’t stand up as well with time as Reach for the Stars. It is a greatly enhanced sequel to Baen Software’s earlier…
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CrossCheck
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Datasoft GAME PUBLISHER:IntelliCreations Copyright 1986, TSR/Intellicreations CrossCheck is an excellent and very rare PC version of TSR’s board game of the same name, designed for 1-4 players. The game is a unique cross between a typical crossword puzzle and Scrabble. Four players (3 of…
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Notable Phantom, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:DesignWare GAME PUBLISHER:DesignWare Copyright 1984, DesignWare The Notable Phantom is a solid music tutorial program designed for musical neophytes of all ages. The game allows you to compose your own tunes, play them back from disk, and practice reading musical notes. A decent program,…
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Snake!
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Chenault GAME DEVELOPER:Baen Software GAME PUBLISHER:Simon & Schuster Copyright 1984, John Chenault Snake! is a great clone of Nibbles with some very innovative concepts, even if the game is ASCII-only with no graphics. There are three modes of play in the game: single player, two-player,…
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BBQ
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:YMORI GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, YMORI BBQ is a unique and amazingly addictive freeware Flash game from Japan. The premise is one of the most original I have seen in any game: you are eating Japanese BBQ (“Yakiniku”) in the restaurant, and all you…
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Lander
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1999, Psygnosis Much in the style of Activision’s Battlezone, Lander is effectively a 3d remake and ‘expansion’ of ancient vector-based arcade game of the same name (familiar, no?). You take the role of a daredevil pilot out to make a…
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Top Gun: Fire at Will
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ken Allen GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Holobyte GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1996, Spectrum Holobyte Top Gun: Fire at Will is a fun action-oriented flight sim from Spectrum Holobyte, designed to attract flight sim beginners to the genre with fun missions based on the hit movie and excellent graphics. Die-hard…
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Cyber Chess
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1993, SoftDisk Publishing Cyber Chess is a decent clone of Interplays Battle Chess, although with far inferior graphics and animations, even if it was released a few years later. The pieces are cast as sci-fi kings, queens, and…
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Romance of the Three Kingdoms 6: Awakening of the Dragon
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Kou Shibusawa GAME DEVELOPER:KOEI GAME PUBLISHER:KOEI Copyright 1996, KOEI Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI: Awakening of the Dragon is the last game in KOEIs acclaimed historical strategy series that was translated into English. The game was also never released for the PC, but thanks to…
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Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Core Design GAME PUBLISHER:Core Design Copyright 1995, Core Design Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 is a fun light chopper simulation from Core Design that is reminiscent of NovaLogics Comanche series in many ways. Namely, its a fast-paced action game that shouldnt be mistaken for the next…
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Star Quest I in the 27th Century
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Virtual Adventures GAME PUBLISHER:Virtual Adventures Copyright 1996, Virtual Adventures Star Quest 1 is a fun shareware space flight simulator that is much better than your average shareware game, although its still nothing compared to Nomad or Elite, two heavyweights in the genre. In addition…
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Oxyd
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Meinolf Schneider GAME DEVELOPER:Dongleware GAME PUBLISHER:Dongleware Copyright 1992, Dongleware The Oxyd series is a fun shareware puzzle/action hybrid that plays like a cross between Marble Madness, Macintosh classic Crystal Quest, and Chip’s Challenge. The game even boasts a plot: overnight, the (digital) life-supporting Oxyds have closed…
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Per.Oxyd
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Meinolf Schneider GAME DEVELOPER:Dongleware GAME PUBLISHER:Dongleware Copyright 1993, Dongleware The Oxyd series is a fun shareware puzzle/action hybrid that plays like a cross between Marble Madness, Macintosh classic Crystal Quest, and Chip’s Challenge. The game even boasts a plot: overnight, the (digital) life-supporting Oxyds have closed…
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Oxyd Extra
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Meinolf Schneider GAME DEVELOPER:Dongleware GAME PUBLISHER:Dongleware Copyright 1994, Dongleware The Oxyd series is a fun shareware puzzle/action hybrid that plays like a cross between Marble Madness, Macintosh classic Crystal Quest, and Chip’s Challenge. The game even boasts a plot: overnight, the (digital) life-supporting Oxyds have closed…
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Bolo
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Meinolf Schneider GAME DEVELOPER:Dongleware GAME PUBLISHER:Dongleware Copyright 1995, Dongleware Bolo is an excellent redesign of the classic Atari game by the same name. Billed as “a high resolution fantasy action adventure,” Bolo is actually a fun action-oriented platformer similar to Bubble Ghost with some puzzle elements.…
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Kung Fu Kim
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chad Frick GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1997, Chad Frick Do you remember that scenes in some oriental action movies, with guys exercising on top of high pillars? Good, put cartoony graphics on them, add a lot of humour, and you have Kung Fu Kim. The…
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Last Dimension
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Anonymous Last Dimension is a 3D shooter in the same style of Taito’s Zeitgeist, but with even better graphics. If it wasn’t that you can move your ship around the screen while shooting at the hordes of enemies coming,…
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Noggin Knockers X: The Duel
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Bloodlust Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Bloodlust Software After a long period of silence (they discontinued their emulators in the second half of 1998), Bloodlust made a comeback in late 1999, with the intention of making games again. The first announced was a new…
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Kamui
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Siter Skain GAME PUBLISHER:Himeya Soft Copyright 1999, Siter Skain A great game from Siter Skain, a Japanese company specialized in 2D shooters, Kamui boasts an overall quality that puts it in par with PC SHMUPS classics like Raiden 2, Rally Raid, and Tyrian 2000.…
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Starship Fight
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Naruto GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Naruto The objective in Starship Fight is simple: in every zone, destroy all the ground structures (represented by blue squares) to advance to the next; fail by missing too many targets, and you will repeat the level. Every enemy…
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Rummi
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Yvon Rozijn GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Yvon Rozijn Rummi is an excellent freeware computer version of Rummikub, one of my most favorite multiplayer board/parlor games and currently the third best-selling board game in the world according to Lemada, the official publisher (the game is…
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Quod
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Mefford GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Michael Mefford Quod is great Windows version of a creative board game invented by G. Keith in 1979. Similar to chess, the game has simple rules requires sophisticated strategy to win consistently. The goal of the game is…
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Tiler’s Torment
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gerry Quinn GAME DEVELOPER:Bindweed GAME PUBLISHER:Bindweed Copyright 1998, Gerry Quinn Tilers Torment is an original and fun variation of your typical jigsaw puzzle game. The object of the game is to arrange polygonal tiles into a pattern so that the colors at every edge match. As…
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Detective Chess
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gerry Quinn GAME DEVELOPER:Bindweed GAME PUBLISHER:Bindweed Copyright 1999, Gerry Quinn Detective Chess is an original and amazingly addictive puzzle game based on the rules of Chess. As the official description says, … the idea comes from some puzzles invented by Jaime Poniachik, and published in one…
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Mr. Driller
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Namco GAME PUBLISHER:Midas Interactive Copyright 1999, Namco Oh, those crazy Japanese console programmers. What will they think of next? Right, according to the intro, the town is being overrun by coloured blocks and only Mr. Driller can stop them. There are also some little…
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Ocean Mix
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Unknown Ocean Mix comes with probably the longest loading time I’ve ever seen for such a small game. While this isn’t a good start, the rest makes up for this. The game is a “score-attack” shooter: you haven’t lives…
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Another Zero
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Unknown One of the most impressive freeware shooters I played, Another Zero is also one of the most difficult games in the genre, freeware or not. Three ships are selectable, each with different characteristics, a main weapon, and a…
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VajraVanish
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Unknown The first difficulty in VajraVanish is… finding the shot and bomb buttons. After some tries, I found them: Backspace and Gray Ins respectively. While such controls are quite uncommon, I must admit that they aren’t absolutely bad, and…
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Ultimate Body Blows
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Team 17 GAME PUBLISHER:Team 17 Copyright 1994, Team 17 The sequel to Body Blows, this game is centered around the revenge of Max (otherwise known as the cyborg T17) and his gangland cronies. Each character from Body Blows is included, and an incredible amount…
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Robotron X
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Williams Electronics GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 1997, Williams Electronics Robotron X is a good revamp of the original coin-op hit Robotron: 2084. As one of the earliest attempts to revive arcade classics, Robotron X plays good and looks great, although the Playstation version, with…
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MDDClone
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Woakes GAME DEVELOPER:Novagen GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2005, Paul Woakes MDDClone is an amazing clone of C64/Spectrum classic Mercenary (both the original game, Escape from Targ, and The Second City mission disk) and its sequel Damocles and all mission disks for Windows. Originally designed by Paul…
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GUB
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Toni R?s?nen GAME DEVELOPER:Imagination GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Toni R?s?nen The game is simple; move your ship (on the bottom of the screen) left to right to dodge the enemy ships, which descend in various patterns from the top of the screen – of course you’ve…
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Violinist of Hameln, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Enix GAME PUBLISHER:Enix Copyright 1995, Enix The Violinist of Hameln is another unique action/adventure/RPG game from Enix that was released only in Japan. Thanks to the translation efforts of fan group J2e Translation, you can now play the game in English. The plot is…
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Motorhead
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Fredrik Liliegren GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Illusions GAME PUBLISHER:Gremlin Copyright 1998, Digital Illusions One of the last games published by Gremlin before they were bought out, Motorhead is an excellent racing game developed by Digital Illusions that deserves a much longer shelf life than it received. Trixters description…
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Virtual Surgeon: Open Heart
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Myo Thant GAME DEVELOPER:ISM Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:ISM Interactive Copyright 1997, ISM Interactive Virtual Surgeon: Open Heart is the fourth and unfortunately last medical simulation game designed by Dr. Myo Thant, a Timonium oncologist whose first game Life and Death became an instant classic when it was…
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Spheres of Chaos
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Iain McLeod GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anoymous Copyright 2000, Iain McLeod Between all the many Asteroids remakes floating around, this one stands as one of the most original. It’s not for particular innovations in the gameplay, aside from some creative bonuses like the Bounce Shield or the…
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Kaeon
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tran GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1992, Tran Kaeon is a little SHMUP that was never finished, with only three short levels, so-so graphics and an extreme difficulty. It’s a little pity though, because it had potentialities: five parallactic backgrounds were quite a rarity on a…
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First Colonists, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Klaus Teuber GAME DEVELOPER:Kosmos GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Kosmos The First Colonists (formerly Settlers of Catan – the name was changed probably to avoid lawsuit possibilities by the boardgame manufacturer) is yet another fanmade PC clone of classic German board game Settlers of Catan, originally published…
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Amnesty Interactive
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Ignition Design GAME PUBLISHER:Voyager Company Copyright 1994, Amnesty International The world’s first software about human rights, Amnesty Interactive is another outstanding CD-ROM from Voyager Company. Developed in conjunction with Amnesty International, the CD-ROM “…traces the progression of human rights from ancient times to the…