Category: Arcade and Action Games

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Derrick Dixon GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Derrick Dixon 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 be described…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mark Bradshaw GAME DEVELOPER:SEGA GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1997, SEGA An extremely addictive puzzle game, Lose Your Marbles from SEGA was marketed as the game that is better than Tetris. “More addictive than Tetris or your money back!” is SEGA’s claim, and it is not much further…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1987, Infogrames Decent first-person shooting game from Infogrames, similar to Capone but with much less variety of enemies to shoot at. Nothing more, nothing less. If you can stomach blurry CGA graphics and must collect every shooting game in existence,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Henrik Markarian & Troy Heere GAME DEVELOPER:Software Toolworks GAME PUBLISHER:Software Toolworks Copyright 1989, Software Toolworks Fun martial arts game staring Asia’s most famous martial artist. Description from MobyGames goes as follows: “You are Bruce Lee, the only man that can fight back against Master Po and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ron Fortier GAME DEVELOPER:Datasoft GAME PUBLISHER:Datasoft Copyright 1987, Datasoft One of the first semi-realistic side-scrollers for PC. MobyGames has the scoop on this martial arts classic: “Bruce Lee is a decent platform game with a lot of action thrown in. Reflexes are needed to pass certain…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Access GAME PUBLISHER:Access Copyright 1989, Access Good conversion of Access Software’s C64 oldie Heavy Metal. The game covers three different combat vehicles, recreated in three different action games. All three are military shoot’em ups – Access style. There’s a “Main Battle Tank” sequence with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:OCEAN GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1992, OCEAN Lackluster platform game based on the movie of the same name. Technically it is very good, with smooth scrolling and nice sprites, both of which are rarely seen on PC games back then. But other than that, it’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Raffaele Cecco GAME DEVELOPER:Vivid Image GAME PUBLISHER:Image Works Copyright 1991, Vivid Image Excellent action/adventure hybrid from Vivid that was much more popular on the Amiga than PC, First Samurai has a thin background story of a young apprentice warrior who follows the Demon King, (the game’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Anonymous GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Unknown A great fanmade fighting game based on Dragonball Z, one of Japan’s most famous manga/anime series. The game is based on M.U.G.E.N., a powerful 2D fighting game engine that lets you create your own fighters, program their special…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tom Hall GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1991, SoftDisk Publishing Second in id Software/SoftDisk’s acclaimed Dangerous Dave series and first in the excellent platform trilogy entitled “All New Misadventures of Dangerous Dave,” Dangerous Dave in The Haunted Mansion remains to this day one of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tom Hall GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1993, SoftDisk Publishing Last and arguably best in SoftDisks cult classic Dangerous Dave series that were id founders most famous games before Wolfenstein 3. In Dave Goes Nutz, once again the evil Nemesis has nabbed Dave’s little…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tom Hall GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1992, SoftDisk Publishing Third game starring a familiar precocious kid in SoftDisks popular Dangerous Dave series, which are games that got id Software founders Tom Hall, John Romero, and John Carmack considerable fame as the best shareware…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Romero GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1990, SoftDisk Publishing One of John Romero’s earliest games before he became world-famous as one of id Software legends, Dangerous Dave is a fun platformer similar to Super Mario. You are Dangerous Dave, a little precocious kid…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Emmons GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1989, Scott Emmons A simple but fun puzzle game that plays like a primitive spiritual predecessor to Deadly Rooms of Death. The goal from game manual: clear levels by making robots smash into one another. You do this by…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:A. A. Wright GAME DEVELOPER:Durell Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1990, A. A. Wright Chain Reaction is a popular puzzle game that was invented in mid-1980s for the Commodore 64 and other computers, and new versions are continually being made for new systems, including Windows and handheld…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Bayliss GAME DEVELOPER:Wordworks GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1986, Wordworks A fun little freeware gem from David Bayliss, X-Fighter is a simple top-down shoot-em-up that is deal for a few minutes of simple, clean arcade fun in 4-color graphics. Gameplay can be summed up in two words:…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Bayliss GAME DEVELOPER:Wordworks GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1986, Wordworks Elevator is a fun oldie freeware gem that was a cult favorite around numerous BBSs (Bulletin Board System) in mid-1980s. Like all good action games, Elevator is easy to learn but maddeningly difficult to master. The goal…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Nova Spring GAME PUBLISHER:Vic Tokai Copyright 1995, Nova Spring A fun sequel to Diggers, an underrated Lemmings clone, Diggers 2: Extractors is to the original what Lemmings: Chronicles is to Lemmings: it adds more levels, more tools, and more challenge. The overall objective, should…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:7th Level GAME PUBLISHER:7th Level Copyright 1997, 7th Level One of the most underrated giant robots games ever made, 7th Level’s G-Nome is an excellent first-person ‘mech game similar to Sierra’s Earthsiege series. Ty Brewer encapsulates both the high and low points of the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Reality Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Reality Studios Copyright 1996, Reality Studios A great platformer similar to the ever-popular Commander Keen series. Mutant killer teddy bears from space threaten the earth. Young Cyril Smith grabs his pellet gun and cyberboard, and heads off to meet the alien…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:CAPCOM GAME PUBLISHER:CAPCOM Copyright 1987, CAPCOM One of CAPCOMs harder to find PC conversions of arcade classics, Trojan was one of the early arcade titles, including Commando, that established CAPCOM as the premier arcade game maker. The banal plot: in a post-apocalyse era, the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Peter Schnitzer GAME DEVELOPER:Proline Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1993, Proline Software One of the most original and best Tetris clones ever made, Nyet 3 makes the basic align-the-falling-blocks gameplay of Tetris much more fun with the addition of money, which you collect when beating a level,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jason Emery GAME DEVELOPER:World Tree Games GAME PUBLISHER:Symmetry Entertainment Copyright 2000, World Tree Games Tyrian is one of the best top-down shooters ever made for the PC, period. With excellent graphics, smooth animations, and many inventive enemies and levels, it remains one of the best-loved shooters…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Amtex GAME PUBLISHER:Amtex Copyright 1994, Amtex Last in Amtex underrated line of pinball games that began with Tristan Pinball and followed by Eight Ball Deluxe, Royal Flush Pinball is based on a famous real-life electro-mechanical pinball table of the same name designed by Ed…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:US Gold GAME PUBLISHER:Acclaim Entertainment Copyright 1997, US Gold Johnny Bazookatone is a smart-looking platformer that unfortunately plays much worse than it looks. Despite having a somewhat novel protagonist (purple-hair guitar-toting dude), it isnt much different from hundreds of other platform games that have…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Norman GAME DEVELOPER:COSMI GAME PUBLISHER:COSMI Copyright 1989, COSMI Marginally above-average realistic military action game in the style of MicroProses venerable Airborne Ranger, except not even half as fun. Your role, from MobyGames description, is to: …[take] the role of a navy SEAL operative and embark…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Neil Duffield GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1997, Psygnosis One of the best-looking 3D games ever made, Psygnosis? G-Police is an addictive, albeit very difficult, futuristic shooter set in a far future. You are Slater, veteran of the so-called ?resource wars?, who has enlisted in the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Joan Wood GAME DEVELOPER:Xatrix Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1997, Xatrix Entertainment The original Cyberia is an innovative, if unforgiving cyberpunk rail shooter that combines adventure game elements with Rebel Assault– style action sequences. Cyberia 2 is essentially the same, except the 3D rendered graphics have been…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Drew Markham GAME DEVELOPER:Xatrix Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1996, Xatrix Entertainment Cyberia is an innovative first-person rail shooter that was lambasted roundly by critics when it was first released for its unforgiving difficulty and drag-the-player-by-the-nose gameplay. I feel that the criticisms, while accurate, undermine the games…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Perry GAME DEVELOPER:Shiny Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1996, Shiny Entertainment After successfully updating classic Atari cartridge game Pitfall! to the ’90s with Pitfall: A Mayan Adventure, the first platform game for Windows 95, Activision next turned their excellent game engine to Earthworm Jim, a cult…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Perry GAME DEVELOPER:Shiny Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1995, Shiny Entertainment After successfully updating classic Atari cartridge game Pitfall! to the ’90s with Pitfall: A Mayan Adventure, the first platform game for Windows 95, Activision next turned their excellent game engine to Earthworm Jim, a cult…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1996, Activision The first platform game designed specifically for Windows 95, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is an excellent game that updates the addictive gameplay of Atari?s Pitfall! to modern hardware. The plot even pays homage to the original: Pitfall!?s hero…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alex Austin GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Alex Austin One of the most original puzzle games ever designed, Bridge Builder is an intriguing blend of real-world physics, puzzle, and economics. Your job is simple: build a structurally sound bridge across the river, over which trains…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:InterActive Vision GAME PUBLISHER:InterActive Vision Copyright 1994, InterActive Vision Wingstar is a relatively obscure vertical shooter from InterActive Vision, a small Denmark-based developer of action and flight sims with roots in ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. The plot in this sci-fi shooter is straightforward:…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SEGA GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1984, SEGA Congo Bongo is an extremely faithful port of Atari’s famous jump-n-run platform arcade game, which in itself is a blatant ripoff of Donkey Kong, presented in Zaxxon-style isometric perspective. When the game begins, Bongo the gorilla just gave…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Twiddy GAME DEVELOPER:Quicksilver GAME PUBLISHER:Data East Copyright 1986, SNK One of the most popular arcade games of its time, SNK’s Ikari Warriors was a vertically-scrolling mission deep into hostile territory. Your mission: rescue General Alexander Bonn, C.I.F. US Forces in Central America, who has been…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Twiddy GAME DEVELOPER:Quicksilver GAME PUBLISHER:Data East Copyright 1986, SNK One of the most popular arcade games of its time, SNK’s Ikari Warriors was a vertically-scrolling mission deep into hostile territory. Your mission: rescue General Alexander Bonn, C.I.F. US Forces in Central America, who has been…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Derek Yu GAME DEVELOPER:Blackeye Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Blackeye Software Another maddeningly addictive coffee break arcade fun from Blackeye Software, Snowbrawl is a great game that pits you in a furious snowball fight in one or two player mode. You are Brian, a kid whom…