Author: admin
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Mars Taxi
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Neon Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Neon Studios Copyright 1997, Neon Studios Mars Taxi is a fun and faithful clone of the 8-bit classic Space Taxi game. Short description on MobyGames: “As an operator of a taxi on Mars, your job is to carry passengers from one…
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Spear: Resurrection
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:AReyeP & MCS Amsterdam GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, AReyeP & MCS Amsterdam Spear Resurrection is probably the best “Total Conversion” of id’s Wolfenstein 3D in existence. Sporting 23 very well-designed missions, new graphics, new enemies, new features including destructible environments, the same addictive gameplay,…
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Bontãgo
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Justin Kinchen GAME DEVELOPER:DigiPen Institute of Technology GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, DigiPen Institute of Technology Developed by Juniors at DigiPen Institute of Technology, Bontgo is a unique and intense 3D abstract wargame. From the official site: “Players begin with flags (one color for each player) spaced…
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Super Robot Wars 3
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Winky Soft GAME PUBLISHER:Banpresto Copyright 1993, Banpresto Virtually unknown outside Asia, Banpresto’s Super Robot War is a popular series of video wargames that began on the NES way back in 1990. The series is based on Banpresto’s wide range of “mecha” franchises including Gundam,…
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Stack Saver
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:CaptainVeg GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, CaptainVeg Stack Saver is a worthy winner of the first mini game making competition, held right in our very own forum in January 2004 among forum regulars. The official description of this 3D shooter, from README file, is as…
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BattleTech 2: The Crescent Hawk’s Revenge
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tony Van GAME DEVELOPER:Westwood Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Infocom Copyright 1991, Infocom Set in the same futuristic universe of gigantic robots’ warfare, the sequel of BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks’ Inception continues the story of the young MechWarrior Jason Youngblood and his quest to rescue his father and retaliate.…
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Codename: Gordon
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:X-Tender & Warbeast GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, X-Tender & Warbeast
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Hurdler
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:KNPMaster & Master Raichu GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2003, KNPMaster & Master Raichu Hurdler is a very neat little action game created by KNPMaster and Master Raichu. Your goal, similar to hurdles in track & field, is to jump over obstacles and reach the yellow…
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Mr. Stump’s Dentures
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Circy GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Circy Mr. Stump’s Dentures is a fun, lengthy, but very difficult platformer from Circy, longtime participant of the “Klik” community. The wacky plot goes as follows according to the official blurb: “…Dentures have been swallowed… a plot to awaken…
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Front Mission
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Squaresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Squaresoft Copyright 1995, Squaresoft Front Mission is a superb turn-based strategy game for SNES platform by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) that unfortunately was never released outside Japan. Thanks to efforts of a fangroup, you can now play this underrated classic in English.…
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Dog Daze Revolution
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gray Chang & Lobsang Alvites GAME DEVELOPER:Atari Games GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Lobsang Alvites Dog Daze Revolution is a great fanmade remake of Dog Daze, a rare underdog released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1981. This Windows remake is actually based on Dog Daze Deluxe, the…
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XOR: The Ultimate Maze Challenge
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stuart Collier & Andy Hewitt GAME DEVELOPER:Astral GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Ovine by Design XOR – The Ultimate Maze Challenge is a superb fanmade remake of a classic puzzle game, created by Astral around 1986 and published by Logotron. The game appeared on just about every…
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PBA Bowling for Windows 95
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Bethesda Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:Bethesda Softworks Copyright 1995, Bethesda Softworks This concise review at GameSpot says it all about this lackluster bowling game from Bethesda that could have been great: “I’m sure there are people out there saying “Yeah, football and baseball are great, but…
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Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Yasumi Matsuno GAME DEVELOPER:Quest GAME PUBLISHER:Atlus Copyright 1997, Atlus Ogre Battle and Tactical Ogre are arguably the best entries in Quest’s line of superb strategy/RPG hybrids that were very popular in Japan, up until Quest was bought out and absorbed into Squaresoft (in fact, Final Fantasy…
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Ogre Battle
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Yasumi Matsuno GAME DEVELOPER:Quest GAME PUBLISHER:Enix Copyright 1994, Quest Ogre Battle and Tactical Ogre are arguably the best entries in Quest’s line of superb strategy/RPG hybrids that were very popular in Japan, up until Quest was bought out and absorbed into Squaresoft (in fact, Final Fantasy…
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Galactic Civilizations
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brad Wardell GAME DEVELOPER:Stardock Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Stardock Systems Copyright 2003, Stardock Systems One of the best 4X space strategy games I have ever played, Galactic Civilizations is a “masterpiece” in every sense of the word. It may not have the complexities of Space Empires or the…
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Evil Dice
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lewey Geselowitz GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Lewey Geselowitz Evil Dice is a decent PC adaptation of Devil Dice, a great puzzle game on Playstation that was never released for PC. Similar to great reflex-based puzzlers, Evil Dice has simple rules: score as many points…
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Radical Dreamers
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Masato Kato GAME DEVELOPER:Squaresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Squaresoft Copyright 1996, Squaresoft Radical Dreamers is a well-written “sequel” of sorts to Square’s famous Chrono Trigger RPG for the SNES system. In contrast to all the other games in the series, this is an “interactive novel” – a genre that…
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Funball
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeffrey Belt GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Impulse Games Copyright 1995, Jeffrey Belt Funball is a fun and little-known shareware 2-player boardgame from Jeffrey Belt, published by Impulse Games. Your goal in this unique Checkers variant is two-pronged: either reach the enemy’s base, or destroy all the enemy…
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Perfect Checkmate
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Gunnar Games GAME PUBLISHER:Expert Software Copyright 1999, Gunnar Games Perfect Checkmate is a decent, but by all means special, chess program from Gunnar Games and Expert Software. Apart from nice 2D and 3D graphics, over one dozen board designs, and a mouse-based interface, the…
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Bust-A-Move 3 DX
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Taito GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1997, Interplay Bust-A-Move 3 DX is yet another great entry in Taito’s line of arcade puzzlers, although it is not all that different from the previous game. As GameSpot says in its review of the SEGA Saturn version, “…[the] premise…
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Bust-A-Move 4
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Taito GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 2000, Interplay Bust-A-Move 4 is the latest and arguably greatest in Taito’s line of arcade puzzlers that are much more popular on console systems than PC. Adrenaline Vault’s comprehensive review says it all: “Anyone who’s tried their hand at any…
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Cavern Fighter
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Munro GAME DEVELOPER:Bug-Byte Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Ian Munro Cavern Fighter is a faithful PC remake of a classic Spectrum ZX game from Bug-Byte, which is one of the best Scramble clones. As Crash magazine elaborates in their review of the Spectrum original, “[Cavern…
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Metal Knight
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Object Software GAME PUBLISHER:Object Software Copyright 1998, Object Software Metal Knight is a fun Command & Conquer-style real-time strategy game from Object Software, an independent Chinese outfit who later developed Fate of the Dragon and Prince of Qin. One of the first games from…
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Fading Footsteps
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Advanced Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Advanced Productions Copyright 1997, Advanced Productions Fading Footsteps is a very little-known “wolf simulation” along similar lines as Sanctuary Wood’s Wolf, but is a much inferior game (and therefore somewhat deserving of its obscurity status). Billed as one entry in a…
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Piano
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Luis Romero GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Luis Romero Piano is a great and relaxing music application coded by Luis Romero. The “game” is basically an interactive piano – you can play and record songs for playback later. What sets Piano apart from other interactive…
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Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rand Miller & Robyn Miller GAME DEVELOPER:Cyan GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1989, Cyan Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel and Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo are two superb educational games disguised as open-ended adventures. Similar in design to The Manhole but much more…
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Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rand Miller & Robyn Miller GAME DEVELOPER:Cyan GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1991, Cyan Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel and Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo are two superb educational games disguised as open-ended adventures. Similar in design to The Manhole but much more…
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Dominant Species
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Red Storm Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Red Storm Entertainment Copyright 1998, Red Storm Entertainment Dominant Species is a much-overlooked RTS from Red Storm Entertainment that is by no means as heavily underrated as, say, Warzone 2100, but nonetheless deserves a much closer look from strategy fans.…
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Every Extend
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:OMEGA GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, OMEGA Every Extend is a very polished, highly addictive coffee-break action game from Japanese designer OMEGA. Like all addictive action games, Every Extend is very easy to learn, but hard to leave. Your only goal in this “kamikaze shooter”…
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World Wide Rally
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Dreams Multimedia GAME PUBLISHER:Digital Dreams Multimedia Copyright 1997, Digital Dreams Multimedia World Wide Rally from Digital Dreams Multimedia (DDM) is an average first-person rally racing game. A wide variety of rally cars and courses unfortunately do not make up for the game’s many…
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Chesshousers
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Dreams Multimedia GAME PUBLISHER:Digital Dreams Multimedia Copyright 1993, Digital Dreams Multimedia Chesshousers is a unique puzzler that unfortunately does not live up to its innovative premise. Although it has a chess theme, the game has little to do with chess: it is, instead,…
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UEFA Euro 96 England
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Gremlin GAME PUBLISHER:Gremlin Copyright 1996, Gremlin UEFO Euro 96 England (Euro 96 for short) is a fun and quite unknown football game from Gremlin. Although based on its Actua Soccer engine, Euro 96 is slightly worse than most in the series, perhaps due to…
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Offensive
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Wave Software GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1995, Wave Software Offensive is a rare and very little-known isometric squad-level wargame from Wave Software, published by OCEAN in 1995 with very little fanfare. Developed by a short-lived programming group called Wave Software, the game plays like a…
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Super Bubsy for Windows
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Accolade GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1995, Accolade Super Bubsy is a little-known platformer gem from Accolade, optimized for Windows 95. As MobyGames describes, the game stars Bubsy the Bobcat, the cartoon hero “….[in] Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind. [You] have to collect the objects…
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Gravitation Ltd.
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Rommereide GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1997, Jeff Rommereide Gravitation Ltd. is a great edutainment software for the Macintosh, released as shareware in 1997. Billed as “solar system simulation,” it can probably be more accurately described as a 2D gravity/orbital simulation. The program lets you…
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Shadowkeep
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Telarium GAME PUBLISHER:Telarium Copyright 1984, Telarium Shadowkeep is a superb but highly underrated graphical text adventure for 8-bit computers that in my opinion is the best cross between interactive fiction and RPG genres ever made. Telarium not only managed to translate RPG mechanics to…
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Risky Woods
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ricardo Puerto & Raul Lopez GAME DEVELOPER:Dinamic Multimedia GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1992, Dinamic Multimedia Risky Woods is a better-than-average side-scrolling platformer that is better known on the Amiga than PC. Your goal: rescue a guardian and kill all the enemies on each level to get…
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New Star Soccer 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Simon Read GAME DEVELOPER:New Star Games GAME PUBLISHER:New Star Games Copyright 2004, Simon Read New Star Soccer 2 is a wonderfully unique and addictive shareware underdog about the life of a footballer. Arguably the world’s first “footballer simulation,” your goal in NSS2 is to become the…
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Mortal Coil: Adrenalin Intelligence
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jon Dean GAME DEVELOPER:Crush! Limited GAME PUBLISHER:Vic Tokai Copyright 1995, Crush! Limited Mortal Coil is an innovative first-person squad-based real-time strategy game that plays like a poor man’s version of Rainbow Six (years before that game was released). The year is 2005. “Mortal Coil” is the…
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Ore No Ryori 2
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mr. Chubigans GAME DEVELOPER:Sony Imagesoft GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Mr. Chubigans Ore No Ryori 2 is a superb sequel to a great PC remake of a Sony Playstation game that was a huge hit in Japan but never made it across the continent. As manager-cum-chef of…
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Hitler’s War
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Keith Gross & Jonathan McCarthy GAME DEVELOPER:Avalon Hill GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Jonathan McCarthy Hitler’s War is a solid fanmade translation of Avalon Hill’s tabletop war game for Windows. In this “introductory level” wargame, you can lead the German army as Hitler against human players in…
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Carcassonne
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Klaus-Jurgen Wrede GAME DEVELOPER:Rio Grande Games GAME PUBLISHER:KOCH Media Copyright 2002, KOCH Media Carcassonne is a wonderful PC conversion of the excellent board game of the same name that deservedly won Germany’s much-coveted Spiel des Jahres (“Game of the Year”) award in 2001. If you have…
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Zendo-san
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Kory Heath & William Shlaer GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, William Shlaer Zendo-San is an excellent, albeit limited, freeware PC version of Zendo, a fun but highly underrated game of inductive logic invented by Kory Heath, using pyramid-shaped pieces called “Icehouse” that he also invented…
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T4 Funeral
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gert Ldecke GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Gert Ldecke T4 Funeral is a superb fanmade side-scrolling platformer built with level editor that was included with T2002, another great Turrican fanmade game that is also reviewed on this site (so one could more accurately call the…
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HamsterJam
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stuart Collier & Andy Hewitt GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2004, Ovine by Design HamsterJam is a superb Windows remake of Commodore / Spectrum ZX game called Rockman, originally released by Mastertronic in 1985. As the official site explains, “…the idea of the game is to…
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F/A-18 Korea
From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Graphic Simulation GAME PUBLISHER:Empire Interactive Copyright 1997, Graphic Simulation F/A-18 Korea is an ultra-realistic flight simulation that deserves much more notice than it received. The comprehensive review at GameSpot says it all about this underdog that rivals Falcon 3.0 in breadth and depth: “As…