Category: Arcade and Action Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hollyware GAME PUBLISHER:Hollyware Copyright 1992, Hollyware Gear Works is a decent puzzle game that may appeal to fans of Incredible Machine series. Your objective is to create gigantic clocks on 12 of the world’s most famous monuments. To do this, you must place given…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Freeware Mathtris is a fun and educational Tetris clone that tests your arithmetic skill in addition to quick reflexes. Blocks that drop from above have either an integer or an arithmetic sign (plus, minus, multiply, divide, or equal) painted…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Softstar GAME PUBLISHER:Softstar Copyright 1992, Softstar RS-2 is a fun, mindless shooter from premier Taiwanese developer SoftStar. Typical top-down shooter– no innovation to speak of, but excels at what it does: providing knuckle-blistering action through dozens of levels. More memorable aspects of the game…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus The “forgotten” Titus game, Knight Force remains today a very rare find– even the original Amiga release is hard to come by. (Until now, that is ;)) The reasons for its obscurity is somewhat mysterious, given that Knight…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus Super Cauldron is yet another platform game by Titus, well fitting to their long list of games in this genre such as Prehistorik, Blues Brothers and Titus the Fox. However, Super Cauldron is far more imaginative in terms…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1993, Titus “Eat and beat your way through 150 screens of awesome, nourishing fun and relive the Prehistorik epic in this incredible platform game. Armed with your Diner Club Anticus, proven to be the ancestor of the baseball bat, you…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Olivier Diaz GAME DEVELOPER:Titus GAME PUBLISHER:Titus Copyright 1992, Titus “Eat and beat your way through 150 screens of awesome, nourishing fun and relive the Prehistorik epic in this incredible platform game. Armed with your Diner Club Anticus, proven to be the ancestor of the baseball bat,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Micromania GAME PUBLISHER:Flair Copyright 1992, Micromania One of the worst fighting games ever made– and possibly the only game from obscure Italian company Micromania. First impression of the game isn’t bad– it’s a 2D fighting game starring superhero-type fighters in latex. It’s only when…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Bradley GAME DEVELOPER:Origin Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Origin Systems Copyright 1995, Origin Systems One of Origin’s most obscure releases, CyberMage: Darklight Awakening is a fun cyberpunk first-person shooter designed by D.W. Bradley, of Wizardry fame. The game unfortunately suffered from the “too much ahead of its time”…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Krisalis GAME PUBLISHER:Krisalis Copyright 1994, Krisalis A fun, highly underrated platformer from Krisalis, and perhaps the only entry in our “Football (Soccer” theme that doesn’t belong in the Sport genre 😉 MobyGames has the lowdown” on this one: “Soccer Kid is an unique platform…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alexander Kochetov GAME DEVELOPER:DOKA GAME PUBLISHER:DOKA Copyright 1993, DOKA Tubis is a complex Tetris variant that is best described as the “expert” level of Welltris. It is best described as Welltris stretched out in every direction so the well becomes cylindrical (a tube, hence the name…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Max Design GAME PUBLISHER:Ascaron Copyright 1991, Max Design Th!nk Cross is a decent Tetris clone with a twist. Instead of moving falling blocks in an empty play area, your goal is to match blocks of various colors and shapes by moving them horizontally and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SEGA GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1996, SEGA Garfield: Caught in the Act is a fun platform game starring everyone?s favorite hungry cat. As the game begins, Garfield has somehow been sucked into, and is now trapped inside, a TV. Your task is to help him…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Homebrew Software GAME PUBLISHER:Homebrew Software Copyright 1993, Homebrew Software GateWorld is a decent platformer that bears more than a passing resemblance to Apogees better-known Commander Keen games. You play Captain Buzz Klondike, intrepid space adventurer. Your task is to make your way through ruined…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Davis GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Randy Davis 17 years ago, Electronic Arts’ Pinball Construction Set was all the rage on Apple computers (the lesser-known PC version is on this site). Users could design fun, albeit primitive, pinball tables. Since that time, pinball fans…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ATOD GAME PUBLISHER:Sales Curve Interactive Copyright 1993, Sales Curve Interactive Successful games with new game principles usually spawn a long list of clones. DMA Design’s Lemmings was one of these games. Troddlers by Swedish developer ATOD is one of the few Lemmings-inspired games that…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:UBI Soft GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1990, UBI Soft Pick ‘n Pile is a great puzzle game that is simple in concept, easy to learn, and very hard to finish. The goal: pick balls of the same color, and pile them on top of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alexander Yarmitsky GAME DEVELOPER:UBI Soft GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1988, UBI Soft One of the best-loved underrated games on the C64, NightHunter is a neat vampire action-adventure featuring a vampire’s daily business like blood-sucking and smooth transformations into a bat or werewolf. In contrast to most…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tim McCarthy GAME DEVELOPER:UBI Soft GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1991, UBI Soft No, this is not the 1999 FPS blockbuster (which is far too popular to be considered an underdog anyway :)). Unreal here is a poor conversion of the popular Amiga game by UBI Soft.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ron David GAME DEVELOPER:Adept Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1993, Adept Software God of Thunder is a superb Zelda-style puzzle game by Adept Software, a little known development group. Ron Davis led the programming team, and Jason Blochowiak (of Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D fame) helped out…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Sensible Software GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1993, Sensible Software Probably the first violent action game in gaming history to succeed at depicting violence in cutesy cartoon feel, Cannon Fodder is a great game from Sensible Software, makers of Sensible Soccer games. Similar to their…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:James Nangano GAME DEVELOPER:First Star GAME PUBLISHER:Free Spirit Copyright 1987, First Star A somewhat disappointing end to one of the best two-player splitscreen series ever, Spy vs Spy 3: Arctic Antics marks the comeback of those wicked spies Black & White from MAD Magazine to the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Delphine Software GAME PUBLISHER:Delphine Software Copyright 1993, Delphine Software In Extremis is probably the most obscure game Delphine ever developed, and for good reason. In contrast to the great blend of cinematic cutscenes and fun gameplay of Out of This World and Flashback, In…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Nabisco Catch The Cookie is a fun, if mindless, arcade/shooter game included free inside a few Nabisco packages. The game was marketed only in Spain, which is a shame, because it’s very playable and strangely addictive. Gameplay is an…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Frank Ziemlinski GAME DEVELOPER:Phenomedia GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Phenomedia One of the best promotional games ever made, Moorhuhn is a fun bird (and a few other animals) shooting game that was responsible for a severe productivity drop in Germany since 1998 😉 (joking, of course). Although…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Phenomedia GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Phenomedia The sequel to Moorhuhn Jagd, one of the best free promotional games ever made, Phenomedia’s Moorhuhn Jagd is as addictive as the original, if not more so. As with its predecessor, the goal in this “virtual moorland chicken…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Allen Pilgrim & Joe Hitchens GAME DEVELOPER:Epic Megagames GAME PUBLISHER:Epic Megagames Copyright 1993, Epic Megagames One of Epic Megagames’ most obscure shareware titles, Xargon is a fun scrolling arcade/adventure game base on the same engine as its much more popular cousin Jill of the Jungle. As…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:LMNOpc GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, LMNOpc If you’ve ever played the original Asteroids or a clone thereof, then you know what this is about. No surprises here…same mindlessly entertaining gameplay with very nice Open-GL 3D graphix and lighting/particle effects. Very cool looking explosions! Features…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Logotron GAME PUBLISHER:Logotron Copyright 1988, Logotron Probably one of the most pirated games in computer history (right up there with California Dreams’ Blockout), Stargoose is a cute little top-down shooter starring you as *cough* a futuristic goose. Aside from the usual assortment of enemy…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chuck Benton GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sydney Development Copyright 1984, Sierra On-Line A moderately popular game on the C64 that went unnoticed on the PC, Sierra’s BC’s Quest for Tires is an average early platform game based on B.C., a popular Johnny Hart comic strip. You…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Rinck GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Disney Copyright 1984, Sierra On-Line A fun little clone of classic Digger, Oil’s Well is fast, fun, but somehow missing the longevity that makes Digger a classic. As MobyGames describes it, the objective is to: “…extend your oil-mining robotic arm…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jay Sullivan GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:IBM Copyright 1982, Sierra On-Line Crossfire is a decent clone of the arcade game Targ, in which you must blast your way out of an all-sides attack. Simple gameplay, but surprisingly fun, as Trixter observes in his capsule review: “The…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Olaf Lubeck GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1983, Sierra On-Line One of the first really good conversion of a hit arcade game, Sierra’s Frogger replicates the fun of SEGA’s coin-op classic almost perfectly. The goal in this deceptively simple game is to hop your way…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Redekopp GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:IBM Copyright 1983, Sierra On-Line Lackluster action game that follows in the footsteps of Pac-Man, only a lot less fun. As Trixter notes in his capsule review: “Unexciting gameplay and faulty contols make this one to avoid. The good: the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Dunscombe GAME DEVELOPER:Rowan GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1994, Rowan Operation Overlord is the third game from Rowan Software, a small British developer that remains today one of the best “hard-core” flight sim companies. In this excellent World War II sim, it is your job as…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Roberts GAME DEVELOPER:Origin Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1997, Origin Systems One of the best gaming compilations ever made that unfortunately attracted too little attention, Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga is a great package that contains the first 3 games in Chris Roberts’ mega-hit Wing…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Meinolf Schneider GAME DEVELOPER:Dongleware GAME PUBLISHER:Dongleware Copyright 1998, Dongleware Oxyd Magnum 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 up…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alexander Ustaszewski & Mirek Zablocki GAME DEVELOPER:California Dreams GAME PUBLISHER:California Dreams Copyright 1989, California Dreams One of the best Tetris clones ever made, California Dreams’ Blockout is essentially Tetris with a third dimension: depth. In this first official Tetris variant that was not published by Spectrum…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brian Goble GAME DEVELOPER:XOR Corporation GAME PUBLISHER:XOR Corporation Copyright 1989, XOR Corporation A fun little Lode Runner clone, Roboman is a good example of a game that does nothing to advance the collect-things-and-find-the-exit genre, but effectively implements tried-and-true formula in an elegant simplicity. The idea is…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Dale GAME DEVELOPER:Audiogenic GAME PUBLISHER:Audiogenic Copyright 1989, Audiogenic A fun little action game that plays like Marble Madness meets pinball, Helter Skelter is a ball-rolling game with a simple goal: move the ball to hit moving targets within time limit to win a level. Higher…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Frieve GAME PUBLISHER:Frieve Copyright 1996, Frieve A cute little vertical shooter that is undoubtedly more than inspired by classic Twinbee series, so I’ve decided to include it as part of our “3U Games” collection. Some background for non-Japanese speakers: Twinbee is a highly successful…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Takeshi Maruyama GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Takeshi Maruyama Oh! Hajiki is a fun little roll-the-ball game that is reminiscent of Marble Madness and Macintosh classic Crystal Quest. The objective is simple: knock out all the balls on the board except your own to clear…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Coktel Vision Copyright 1989, Coktel Vision One of the most obscure Coktel Vision games ever, Asterix: Operation Getafix is a decent action/adventure similar to Infogrames’ Tintin games, starring one of France’s best-known comic book character. The plot is as wacky as…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Peter Molyneux GAME DEVELOPER:Bullfrog GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1995, Bullfrog One of the most original games ever made, Bullfrog’s Magic Carpet is a classic action/strategy hybrid that remains eminently playable years after its release. Magic Carpet Plus is a re-release of the game that contains both…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Plasma Works GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1995, Plasma Works Puzzle Pits is an excellent, albeit relatively unknown, puzzle game that was criticized so heavily by most “professional” game critics that its shelf life was miserably short. Reading some of the reviews, however, I can’t help…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Family Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Family Productions Copyright 1995, Family Productions One of the most underrated and obscure 2D platform games ever made, Iron Blood (released as Interrupt in Korea) offers fast and furious arcade-style fighting in well-animated backdrops, against a surprising variety of “bosses.” Gameplay…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Cyrille Fontaine GAME DEVELOPER:Kalisto GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1994, Kalisto Probably the most unique official Pac-Man game in existence, Pac-In-Time casts Pac-Man as an Indiana Jones wannabe, sporting not only legs but leather gloves, whip, and that self-confident sneer that Indy fans know all too well. There’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Brent GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Mike Brent Yiff! is a very addictive, original puzzle game for one or two players. The game is a variant of little-known board game called Chain Reaction, which plays like a curious cross between traditional Othello, Life game,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Silas S. Warner GAME DEVELOPER:Muse Software GAME PUBLISHER:Muse Software Copyright 1983, Muse Software The sequel to Muse’s revolutionary Castle Wolfenstein follows the same basic formula as the predecessor, while adding a host of new features that make gameplay more complex. The plot follows where the first…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Silas S. Warner GAME DEVELOPER:Muse Software GAME PUBLISHER:Muse Software Copyright 1983, Muse Software Undoubtedly one of the best action games ever made, Muse Software’s Castle Wolfenstein is a revolutionary action game that spawned a whole new genre. If the name sounds familiar to you, your hunch…