Author: admin
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Sesame Street: Opposites Attract
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brian Rice GAME DEVELOPER:Merit Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Merit Studios Copyright 1987, Brian Rice Sesame Street: Opposites Attract is yet another entry in “Electric Crayon,” a long line of electronic coloring books designed by Brian Rice and published by Merit Studios. In addition to featuring most of the…
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Virtual In
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Juna GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Juna Virtual In is a fun little one-on-one fighting game that will surprise you with superb playability despite its small size. The title is a parody of popular fighting game Virtual On, and the game itself uses the robotic…
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Rekkaturvat
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jetro Lauha GAME DEVELOPER:tAAt GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Jetro Lauha Without a doubt, Porrasturvat (Stair Dismount in English) was one of the most original freeware underdogs of 2002. But how do you code a sequel to a unique game whose purpose is to cause as much…
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Ultimate Soccer Manager 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Impressions GAME PUBLISHER:Impressions Copyright 1999, Impressions A much better game than it’s predecessor, Ultimate Soccer Manager, and not much worse that it’s sequel and “grand finale” USM98, USM2 the perfect example of a second “volume” in a trilogy: Although it misses the multi-league seasons…
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Player of the Year
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Krisalis GAME PUBLISHER:Philips Media Copyright 1996, Krisalis Based on the English FA and with the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), this Krisalis manager/action game is probably one of the most underrated football games ever. Updated and upgraded version of Manchester United: The double, Player of…
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Actua Soccer 3
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Gremlin GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1999, Gremlin Imagine Sensible Soccer. Imagine a 3D engine built over the massive ammount of teams and competition options. Now imagine everything screwed up by unrewarding gameplay, and there you have Actua Soccer 3 in its full glory. 25 leagues,…
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Soccer Superstar
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Dreams Multimedia GAME PUBLISHER:Digital Dreams Multimedia Copyright 1996, Digital Dreams Multimedia Soccer Superstar is a poor football (soccer to you Americans) game from DDM, a small Spanish shareware developer. Let’s start with the few good points first. Graphically, the game is on par…
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World Cup Rugby ’95
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Audiogenic GAME PUBLISHER:Audiogenic Copyright 1995, Audiogenic The last and arguably best in Audiogenic’s long line of excellent but very underrated rugby games, World Cup Rugby ’95 is an updated version of World Class Rugby, a great 1992 Audiogenic released described by The One magazine…
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Halloween Spirit Board
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Passfield & Steve Stamatiadis GAME DEVELOPER:Gee Whiz! Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, John Passfield & Steve Stamatiadis Halloween Spirit Board is a cool “electronic toy” from the folks behind The Chronicles of Jaruu Tenk, a neat screen saver that I also reviewed on this site.…
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Discover Space
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1992, Brderbund Discover Space is an excellent desktop planetary program from Broderbund, makers of numerous prize-winning edutainment titles including the world-famous Where in [X] is Carmen Sandiego? series. Contrary to Broderbund’s most other programs, Discover in Space is more of…
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X-Rock
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Softworld GAME PUBLISHER:Softworld Copyright 1991, Softworld X-Rock (a.k.a. Rockin’ Magic Ball) is a thoroughly average Tetris variant from Softworld, Taiwan’s most prolific gaming developers. Probably the only reason anyone might want to play this game over numerous other excellent Tetris games (including Triptych, Nyet…
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Alex the Allegator 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Johan Peitz GAME DEVELOPER:Free Lunch Design GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Free Lunch Design Alex the Allegator 2 is a neat little board game for one or two players from Free Lunch Design. From the official site, your objective is simple: “…Place your tokens in turn on…
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Alex the Allegator 4
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Johan Peitz GAME DEVELOPER:Free Lunch Design GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Free Lunch Design Alex the Allegator 4 is a fun platformer that harks back to the good old days of 8-bit Nintendo games. Similar to Douglas Circumstance, Alex 4 features excellent anime-style animations, addictive side-scrolling gameplay,…
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Comet Busters!
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steven Hugg GAME DEVELOPER:HAMCO Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Steven Hugg Comet Busters! is a very fun Asteroids clone for one to four players. From the succinct description at MobyGames: “…You must blast all the comet chunks to advance to the next level. But there are…
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Cobra Gunship
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Elysium Digital GAME PUBLISHER:Elysium Digital Copyright 1998, Elysium Digital Games Domain says it all about Cobra Gunship, an addictive side-scrolling shareware shooter developed by Elysium Digital, a small company who stopped making games after this one: “[Cobra Gunship] is a surprisingly enjoyable [game]. It…
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Dragon Spirit
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Bandai GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1990, Anonymous Dragon Spirit is an excellent but little-known PC conversion of a hit arcade game, originally from Bandai but converted by a team of fans. At first glance, Dragon Spirit looks just like any other vertical shooters, except that…
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Bugbomber
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Kingsoft GAME PUBLISHER:Kingsoft Copyright 1992, Kingsoft Bugbomber is a fun and huge puzzle games that features 50 levels of addictive gameplay for either one or up to four players. A clone of Bomberman, Bug Bomber adds to the already addictive gameplay with special blocks…
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Santaman
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dem Innovations GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Dem Innovations Santaman is a great freeware platformer that deserves to be much better known. The plot: “…The year is unknown. A factory has being used by a gang mutants for a long time and people say strange…
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Moto Extreme
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Artech GAME PUBLISHER:Valusoft Copyright 1997, Artech Moto Extreme is a so-so motocross game from Artech that pales beside Road Rash and Moto Racer, although admittedly Moto Extreme tries to be a different kind of game. While Moto Racer is a “real life” motocross racing…
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Actua Soccer: Club Edition
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Gremlin GAME PUBLISHER:Gremlin Copyright 1997, Gremlin Actua Soccer: Club Edition is another excellent entry in Gremlin’s highly underrated Actua Soccer series. Chris McMullen of Games Domain says it all about this underdog: “…You can play as any of the twenty Premiership clubs, and unlike…
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Captain Quazar
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Studio 3DO GAME PUBLISHER:Studio 3DO Copyright 1996, Studio 3DO Captain Quazar is a fun and little-known game from now-defunct Studio 3DO that combines the frenetic fun of Atari’s classic Berzerk with the wacky cartoon humor of Gunstar Heroes. The plot: as galactic Captain Quazar,…
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Medieval Chess
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jag Jaeger GAME DEVELOPER:JV Enterprises GAME PUBLISHER:JV Enterprises Copyright 1996, JV Enterprises Medieval Chess is a unique chess game from short-lived JV Enterprises that is more intriguing in concept than how it actually plays. The game is best described as an attempt to make chess “realistic”…
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Puzz-3D: Notre Dame Cathedral
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Wrebbit GAME PUBLISHER:Wrebbit Copyright 1997, Wrebbit Puzz-3D: Notre Dame Cathedral is the first entry in a semi-successful series of compurized versions of “Puzz-3D,” Wrebbit’s line of 3D jigsaw puzzles. As with the other titles in the series, Notre Dame is basically a 3D jigsaw…
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Pushe Pushe
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hicom GAME PUBLISHER:Hicom Copyright 1997, Hicom Pushe Pushe is a decent one-screen platform game that plays like a cross between Super Mario and Bubble Bobble, although not nearly as fun as either. You basically control a boy hero as he jumps around each level,…
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Hill Street Blues
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rob Hill GAME DEVELOPER:Krisalis GAME PUBLISHER:Krisalis Copyright 1991, Krisalis Hill Street Blues is a lackluster simulation of a policeman’s routine from Krisalis. Despite an ambitious premise, the game falls short of expectations due to poor interface and the fact that it makes you do far too…
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Wkobo
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Daehyun Kim & Akira Higuchi GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Daehyun Kim & Akira Higuchi Wkobo is a superb fanmade remake of Xkobo, one of the best freeware games for Linux systems. Like Xkobo, Wkobo is a fast-paced multiway scrolling space shooter similar to a…
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Catast
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Narita Sho GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Narita Sho Catast is a fun reflex-oriented action/puzzle hybrid that plays like a cross between Breakout, Tetris, and Laser Light. Your job is to move a cute anime creature called Mirmy around the screen, avoiding falling blocks while…
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Golden Oldies Volume 1
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Robert Dietz & Peter Beemt GAME DEVELOPER:Software Toolworks GAME PUBLISHER:Software Toolworks Copyright 1985, Software Toolworks Description at MobyGames says it all about this quirky piece of software gaming history – made back when Software Toolworks was still called “Software Library” 🙂 “Probably the first retro-collection ever…
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Games People Play, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Software Toolworks GAME PUBLISHER:Software Toolworks Copyright 1990, Software Toolworks The Games People Play is a lackluster collection of two card games (Gin and Cribbage) and two board games (Checkers and Backgammon). Clearly Software Toolworks wanted to market the game as a “premium” title, touting…
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Card Mania
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Jumping Bean Company GAME PUBLISHER:Jumping Bean Company Copyright 1994, Jumping Bean Company Card Mania is a fun computerized version of Pokio and Quintoon, two coin-op card games that used to be somewhat popular in casinos and arcades both in the USA and Europe. Perhaps…
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Dark Vengeance
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Chait GAME DEVELOPER:Reality Bytes GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 1999, Reality Bytes Dark Vengeance is a decent action/adventure that tries to breath new life into the hybrid genre invented by Tomb Raider, but ultimately falls short of its ambitious goal due to awkward controls and some…
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Fortune Teller
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Xyton GAME PUBLISHER:Xyton Copyright 1985, Xyton One of the first – if not THE first – commercial fortune telling software for PC, Fortune Teller from Xyton Software is remarkable not only because it is old, but also because it is not based on Western…
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Olmangzolmang Paradise
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Family Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Family Productions Copyright 1995, Family Productions Olmangzolmang Paradise is a neat little shooter from Korea. “Olmangzolmang” means “SD” – stumpy-head style anime, so the game is basically a cute anime shooter featuring SD version of characters from other Family Productions games,…
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Wizard’s Doom
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Thaedeus Zefuldar GAME DEVELOPER:Uptown Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Uptown Productions Copyright 1989, Uptown Productions Wizard’s Doom is a decent third-person puzzle game in the same vein as Soko-Ban, except not as devious or fun. The plot is that you have been captured inside some evil wizard’s castle, and…
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KartingRace
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stein Nyg?rd GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Stein Nyg?rd KartingRace is an excellent 3D gokart racing game from a Danish author. The game offers two race-modes: practice and race. Up to 6 players can compete via TCP/IP, and the game supports a complete range of…
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NapkinRace
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stein Nyg?rd GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Stein Nyg?rd Another excellent racing game from Stein Nyg?rd, the talented Danish author behind KartingRace. In NapkinRace, up to four human players can race each other in splitscreen mode, via LAN or TCP/IP. NapkinRace courses are laid out…
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Sensible World of Soccer: European Championship Edition
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Chapman & Jon Hare GAME DEVELOPER:Sensible Software GAME PUBLISHER:Time Warner Interactive Copyright 1996, Sensible Software A “sequel” of sorts to Sensible Software’s 1996 Sensible World of Soccer, a great conversion of the company’s famous Amiga football (soccer) game. Based on the teams that played in…
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Manic Karts
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jon Stuart GAME DEVELOPER:Manic Media Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1995, Manic Media Productions Manic Karts is a great but very unknown sequel to SuperKarts, Manic Media’s hit game published by Virgin Interactive. Criticized by most of the press for its outdated graphics, Manic Karts remains…
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Piquin
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ancil Anthropy GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Ancil Anthropy Piquin is a neat and unique game from Ancil Anthropy, game designer who kindly made this game open source as well as freeware. If you think you have seen and played every kind of Pac-Man game,…
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Soccer Cards
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Douglas GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, Michael Douglas Soccer Cards is a unique football (soccer) game from Michael Douglas, an amateur game designer. Basically a football game that is played by cards, you play the game by using a set of “match cards,” each…
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Scooter’s Magic Castle
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1994, EA*Kids Scooter’s Magic Castle is a fun edutainment title from EA*Kids, a superb but sadly short-lived series by Electronic Arts. Set in a cartoonish castle environment, the game includes 25 learning games and activities for children aged…
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Airfix Dogfighter
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Unique Development Studios (UDS) GAME PUBLISHER:Paradox Entertainment Copyright 2000, Paradox Entertainment Airfix Dogfighter is a fun flight simulator that is perfect for the kid in all of us. James Kay’s review for the Games Domain says it all about this quirky underdog: “Almost every…
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Crusade, The
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Joshua Jensen GAME DEVELOPER:Inland International GAME PUBLISHER:Inland International Copyright 1991, Joshua Jensen The Crusade is a below-average action/strategy hybrid similar to Gauntlet – except not half as much fun. For starters, the plot is quite ludicrous: you are a king who has returned from a long…
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Plexu
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:New Line GAME PUBLISHER:New Line Copyright 1990, New Line Plexu is a terrible PC conversion of an equally bad Amiga game. This real dog is the only game made by New Line before they went out of business – no surprise, given how awful…
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Global Operations
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Barking Dog Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Crave Entertainment Copyright 2001, Barking Dog Studios Global Operations is a superb tactical first-person shooter that is hugely underrated – most probably because it was overshadowed by Counter Strike, a similar – and much more popular – game which was…