Category: Role Playing and Adventure Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:F. J. Lennon & Don Wuenschell GAME DEVELOPER:Paragon Software GAME PUBLISHER:Paragon Software Copyright 1990, Paragon Software Space 1889 is the second game based on Game Workshop’s p&p RPG. In an alternate history (similar to Origin’s Martian Dreams) where Thomas Edison invented time travel, you set out…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Game Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1991, Game Arts Amidst the flurry of imported games that resulted from Sierra’s deal with Japanese publisher Gamearts are Sorcerian and Zeliard, two quirky action/RPG titles with strong “console” feel. Definitely “light” games in that there is few…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John G. Wood & Steven Green GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Digital Enterprises GAME PUBLISHER:Empire Interactive Copyright 1991, Oxford Digital Enterprises Sleeping Gods Lie is, similar to Drakkhen, one of the first truly 3D RPGs but goes a step further with mouse-based movement mode. Unfortunately, the gameplay and plot…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Ceridus Software GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1994, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) In one of the most unique RPGs ever, you must discover the secrets of the Warpworld to defeat the evil Red Shantha and rescue your fellow villagers. Despite it being based…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Woodroffe GAME DEVELOPER:AdventureSoft GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1992, AdventureSoft Two of the most charming adventure games ever are low-profile games that have captured many an adventurer’s heart. In both games, quintessential 90’s teenager Simon must prevent the evil wizard from conquering the magical world he’s unwittingly…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Woodroffe GAME DEVELOPER:AdventureSoft GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1991, AdventureSoft Two of the most charming adventure games ever are low-profile games that have captured many an adventurer’s heart. In both games, quintessential 90’s teenager Simon must prevent the evil wizard from conquering the magical world he’s unwittingly…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve Lee GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Mastertronic Copyright 1986, Mastertronic Shogun is one of the earliest adventure games that combine traditional adventure with both action and strategic elements– an attempt that proved largely successful here. In this unique adventure that foreshadows Sid Meier’s Sword of the Samurai,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1987, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Quietly released by SSI in 1986 and 1987 were 2 PC conversions of their classic Apple II RPGs: Demon’s Winter and The Shard of Spring. Both games are solid…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Mastertronic GAME PUBLISHER:Mastertronic Copyright 1987, Mastertronic Another solid fantasy adventure based on the Kobyashi Naruengine, Shard of Inovar is a more traditional adventure. You are a royal wizard who must invoke various rituals to reconstruct the cairnrue, a magical barrier that protects the earth…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Corey Cole GAME DEVELOPER:Legend Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Legend Entertainment Copyright 1996, Legend Entertainment

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Teque GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1992, Domark Yet another novel-concepts-but-poorly-implemented games, Shadowlands purports to be revolutionary in ways its title implies: through the use of shadows that everything realistically casts indoors according to lighting positions. Unfortunately, this creative idea also makes the game very frustrating…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ICOM Simulations GAME PUBLISHER:ICOM Simulations Copyright 1986, ICOM Simulations Shadowgate is a typical fantasy adventure game with a typical defeat-an-evil plot: you have been sent to Castle Shadowgate prevent the resurrection of an evil monster (called the Behemoth). Although most puzzles are logical, Shadowgate…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Groteboer & George MacDonald GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1990, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Shadow Sorcerer is SSI’s third (and last) of the non-“Gold Box” AD&D titles, along with Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame. While Lance…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Karl Buiter GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1994, Sierra On-Line Designed as an on-line multiplayer game, Shadow of Yserbius and Fates of Twinion unfortunately faded into oblivion with the demise of INN, Sierra’s on-line gaming service. Stripped off its multiplayer features, they are still…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Infogrames GAME PUBLISHER:Infogrames Copyright 1994, Chaosium Inc. Shadow of the Comet is one of the best horror games ever produced, with a gripping storyline based on Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, good puzzles, and a wonderful atmosphere and characters despite some interface quirks. As journalist who…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Neal White III & Rand Bohrer GAME DEVELOPER:Macrocom GAME PUBLISHER:Sir-Tech Copyright 1987, Macrocom ICON: Quest for The Ring and Seven Spirits of Ra are two very revolutionary real-time RPGs that are unfortunately overlooked by most gamers. The reasons on why they deserve a permanent spotlight in…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Karl Buiter GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1989, Karl Buiter One of my most favorite sci-fi RPGs ever, Sentinel Worlds is one of the very best “hard” sci-fi games ever made, despite disappointing sales figures. Your task as is to command a crew of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Leisuresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Leisuresoft Copyright 1991, Leisuresoft First in Leisuresoft’s “Leisureland” adventure game series, Scrooge is an easy adventure games starring Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser millionnaire who lived in the 19th century. Scrooge has a fun premise: it’s your job to convince Scrooge to give…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jonathan Merritt & Dale Disharoon GAME DEVELOPER:Telarium GAME PUBLISHER:Spinnaker Copyright 1988, Spinnaker The last in the long line of great Telarium/Windham Classic adventures, this game doesn’t quite live up to the wonderful Below the Root , which uses a similar but more outdated choose-the-verb engine. It…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Interstel GAME PUBLISHER:Interstel Copyright 1984, Interstel Interstel’s first and –thankfully– last RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world that predates Interplay’s classic Wasteland by a few years, Scavengers of the Mutant World unfortunately doesn’t play as good as it looks, with an extremely out-of-balance character…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Nicholson GAME DEVELOPER:Dreamforge Intertainment GAME PUBLISHER:ASC Games Copyright 1998, ASC Games Doubtless one of the very best “serious” adventure games ever made. In this psychological rollercoaster ride, you find yourself a patient in a strange sanitarium, with no memory of who you are. Slowly but…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Millennium GAME PUBLISHER:Millennium Copyright 1990, Millennium Millennium’s second isometric adventure game is a humorous romp in the ancient Roman Empire. Rome: Pathway to Power is a vast improvement over Adventures of Robin Hood in every respect. The tiny characters are still there, but they…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Tunnell GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Dynamix Copyright 1992, Dynamix Dynamix’s first adventure game, Rise of The Dragon is one of the most atmospheric graphical adventures ever made and Jeff Tunnell’s masterpiece. As futuristic private eye and ex-cop Blade Hunter hired investigate the death of the mayor’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1987, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Quietly released by SSI in 1987, Rings of Zilfin is a PC conversion of classic Apple II RPG that places more emphasis on the storyline, cinematic “cutscenes,” and ease…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lee Sheldon GAME DEVELOPER:Sanctuary Woods GAME PUBLISHER:Sanctuary Woods Copyright 1996, Sanctuary Woods One of my most favorite adventure games ever, Riddle of Master Lu stars Robert Ripley, explorer extraordinaire and author of famous syndicated cartoon, as he sets out on a perilous journey to find the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Matt Gruson GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1992, MicroProse As Rex Nebular, privateer and womanizer in the spirit of Han Solo (if only half as charming), you embark on a quest to steal a priceless vase from the planet that are populated only by woman. Tongue-in-cheek…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Matt Gruson GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1993, MicroProse Investigate strange accidents at the Paris Opera House that mimic the crimes of the notorious Phantom of the Opera. Matt reduces the puzzle’s difficulty considerably (perhaps in response to some player’s criticisms that some puzzles in Rex…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Charles Griffith GAME DEVELOPER:Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) GAME PUBLISHER:Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) Copyright 1994, Quantum Quality Productions (QQP) The only RPG ever published by QQP, Red Crystal is a very kind of RPG that can best be described as RPG meets strategy– similar to Omnitrend’s Paladin…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Green & Alan Colting GAME DEVELOPER:Gremlin GAME PUBLISHER:Gremlin Copyright 1997, Gremlin Realms of the Haunting is one of the best, if not THE best, occult games ever, featuring an outstanding, well-told story that evolves from the haunted-house cliche to a fascinating interplay of good and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Guido Henkel GAME DEVELOPER:Attic Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Sir-Tech Copyright 1994, Sir-Tech Among the most complex RPGs ever made, the only thing “wrong” about this trilogy depends on your perspective: if you love tinkering with statistics and realism, such as food levels of your party, then these are…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Dreamforge Intertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1994, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Sir Launcelot du Lake sums it all up nicely in his review: Strahd’s Possession is a mixed bag; the good storyline, soundtrack and full speech throughout makes it worth experiencing. Some…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Dreamforge Intertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1995, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) The Stone Prophet is the follow-up to Strahd’s Possession, set in the Ravenloft world, yet is really only related insofar as you can import characters. The Egyptian setting is very well…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1997, Sierra On-Line A great adaptation of classic sci-fi series by Arthur C. Clarke and co-designed by the author himself with Gentry Lee, RAMA casts you as a crew member of the exploration…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1988, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) The follow-up to SSI’s Apple II classic Questron and spiritual cousin to EA’s Legacy of the Ancients, Questron II picks up the story years after its predecessor ends. This…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Learn Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Learn Technologies Copyright 1996, Learn Technologies One of the most educational and literate games ever released, the game unfortunately suffers from the snail-like pace and puzzles that require meticulous reading of the on-line encyclopedia. Similar to Riddle of Master Lu in…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Kyodai GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1989, Kyodai One of the earliest Japanese RPGs released overseas, Psychic War combines the anime-style graphics with first-person gameplay in this intriguing scifi RPG that features ESP powers instead of spells and arcade-style combat. Interestingly enough, the game is not…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Philips Media GAME PUBLISHER:Philips Media Copyright 1994, Philips Media Released at the height of FMV/interactive movie craze, Psychic Detective did succeed in avoiding the usual pitfalls of FMV with a unique premise: as psychic Eric Fox, you are able to enter any character’s head…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Joe Ybarra GAME DEVELOPER:Tsunami Media GAME PUBLISHER:Tsunami Media Copyright 1993, Tsunami Media Protostar stands out as one of the better games Tsunami produced in their short career. Designed by Starflight designers who intended to market the game as Starflight 3 but could not win the rights…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1988, Activision A fun action-oriented RPG similar to Westwood’s Hillsfarin its “light” gaming style, The Prophecy puts you in a role of — surprise surprise– a hero who must save his hometown Trinadon from certain destruction. Colorful graphics and cool…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1992, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) This is the “black sheep” of SSI’s RPG stable that was designed to entice new gamers into the RPG genre: very simple character creation and stats, appealing VGA graphics…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Simon & Schuster GAME PUBLISHER:Simon & Schuster Copyright 1996, Simon & Schuster Private Eye is a good adaptation of the Raymond Chandler classic “Little Sister” noir novella. Strategy Plus says it all: [this] is an absorbing, well-produced movie using… cel animation techniques. Private Eye…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tonio Loewald GAME DEVELOPER:BadgerCom GAME PUBLISHER:BadgerCom Copyright 1995, BadgerCom Prince of Destruction (PoD) is a Windows based, overhead role-playing game that takes place in the land of Nestaria. The character has been summoned by a great wizard to overthrow the evil ruler and free the kingdom…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rob Swigart GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1986, Rob Swigart Portal is a unique “interactive novel” that tells one of the best sci-fi stories ever. Returning from a failed 100-year voyage to earth, you find that that everyone has mysteriously disappered. Then you discover HOMER, a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Neal Hallford GAME DEVELOPER:New World Computing GAME PUBLISHER:New World Computing Copyright 1993, New World Computing One of the longest and most overlooked RPG ever, Planet’s Edge is a solid offering from the makers of Might & Magic series. Despite the lack of pedigree and fame that…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Doug Wood GAME DEVELOPER:Logical Design Works GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1987, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Phantasie games are early RPGs that should be credited as among the first to feature excellent combat options (e.g. different styles of attack), “bank” concept where you deposit the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Doug Wood GAME DEVELOPER:Logical Design Works GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1986, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Phantasie games are early RPGs that should be credited as among the first to feature excellent combat options (e.g. different styles of attack), “bank” concept where you deposit the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Woodroffe & Keith Wadhams GAME DEVELOPER:Horrorsoft GAME PUBLISHER:Horrorsoft Copyright 1989, Horrorsoft This rare PC conversion of a great Amiga game is arguably Horrorsoft’s best adventure before they turned to the RPG genre to produce cult classics Elvira and Waxworks. As with Horrorsoft’s other games, Personal…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Cliff Bleszinski GAME DEVELOPER:Game Syndicate Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Epic Megagames Copyright 1991, Epic Megagames The Palace Of Deceit: Dragon’s Plight was the first release of one of Epic Megagame’s lead game designers, Cliff Bleszsinski. He released it in 1991 as a shareware title under his self-owned game…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lee Sheldon GAME DEVELOPER:Sanctuary Woods GAME PUBLISHER:Sanctuary Woods Copyright 1997, Sanctuary Woods Sanctuary Wood’s last game before disbanding is a fun cartoon adventure with a zany plot: Orion Burger, a galactic fast food joint, has selected Earth as its next target for “protein procurement” that will…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:James Nangano GAME DEVELOPER:First Star GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1989, First Star One of Epyx’ last releases before they went out of business, this is a cutting-edge game for its time in many ways: good graphics, plot (in which you are an intergalactic police investigating an agent’s…