Category: Role Playing and Adventure Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Arkane Studios GAME PUBLISHER:JoWood Productions Copyright 2002, Arkane Studios Without a doubt one of the best RPGs I have ever played, Arx Fatalis is a highly underrated masterpiece by French developer Arkane Studios. In Arx Fatalis, Arkane has successfully combined the graphical pizzazz of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ICE Inc. GAME PUBLISHER:ICE Inc. Copyright 1994, ICE Inc. Not a “computer game” per se but more of an “interactive comic book,” Pangea: Return to Planet Earth is one of the earliest releases of its kind prior to the rise of CD-ROMs. Other than…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edoardo Gervino GAME DEVELOPER:Trecision GAME PUBLISHER:Team 17 Copyright 1998, Trecision Nightlong is an atmospheric and fun cyberpunk adventure game from Trecision. Although it suffers from extreme pixel-hunt syndrome in places and a very slow pace for the first 1/4th of the game, Nightlong still remains a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edoardo Gervino GAME DEVELOPER:Trecision GAME PUBLISHER:Project 2 Interactive Copyright 1997, Trecision Ark of Time is a fun time-travel adventure game from Trecision. You play Richard Kendal, a journalist sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a cultural expedition team led by a nutty professor who went…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Prism Leisure Copyright 1993, On-Line One of the most sought-after adventure CD-ROM titles in existence, Hound of Baskerville is unfortunately a game for which there is good reason for its rarity: it is terrible. There are not enough ‘game’ elements to capture…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roberta Williams & Daniel Stacey GAME DEVELOPER:Tierra Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Tierra Entertainment This is without a doubt one of the best fanmade adventure games ever made. King’s Quest II: Romancing the Stones (name changed to reflect the movie from which the original game was…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Digital X-Citement GAME PUBLISHER:Black Legend Copyright 1995, Digital X-Citement Tower of Souls is an uninspired Diablo-style isometric RPG, released as shareware years before Westwood released that blockbuster action/RPG that popularized the genre. The Amiga version of Tower of Souls was better known than this…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cavalier Software GAME PUBLISHER:Micro League Copyright 1995, McLeod Software Realm of the Paladin is a lackluster top-down RPG created by Cavalier Software and published by Micro League. Although well-informed gamers know that graphics do not guarantee a good game, they should complain when a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Joseph Chow GAME DEVELOPER:Art 9 Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Manaccom Copyright 1995, Art 9 Entertainment One of the most obscure point & click adventure games ever made, Heaven’s Dawn is an average game created by Taiwanese developer Art 9 Entertainment, translated into English and marketed in Australia by…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Laird Malamed GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1997, Activision The last official game based on Infocom’s venerable Zork franchise, Zork: Grand Inquisitor ends the series on a high note with a wonderful, immensely entertaining game that brings the whimsical world of Zork to life as never…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Activision GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1996, Activision Zork Nemesis is an excellent and atmospheric “Myst-style” adventure game set in the Zork universe. It is unfortunate that the game is set in Infocom’s famous fantasy world that fans associate with a family-friendly, light-hearted sense of humor,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Keypunch GAME PUBLISHER:Keypunch Copyright 1986, Keypunch Amulet of Yendor is a cheap rip-off of Rogue, included as part of Keypunch’s Swords and Sorcery package. The plot is straightforward: go into a castle to retrieve the magical Orb of Yendor. Anyone who has played Rogue…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Keypunch GAME PUBLISHER:Keypunch Copyright 1986, Keypunch One of the few truly revolutionary RPGs, Swords of Glass is a wonderful first-person dungeon romp that was way ahead of its time (1986). The excellent review at a fan page says it all about what makes this…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Mayhem Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Bohemia Interactive Copyright 2000, Mayhem Studios Gordon Aplin’s review at The Quandary says it all about this little-known ‘old-school’ adventure game in English that was strangely re-released with a German title briefly in 2002: “Verschollen Auf Lost Island loosely translates as…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Squaresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Squaresoft Copyright 1995, Squaresoft Romancing Sa-Ga series is one of the best example of hit RPG series for the Super Nintendo that are tremendously popular in Japan but little known outside – in this case, for the usual reason: Squaresoft decided not…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stefan Gadnell & Anders Backman GAME DEVELOPER:Aniware GAME PUBLISHER:Aniware Copyright 2000, Aniware Agharta is a good example of a game that is long on form, but short on substance. Billed as an “adventure game,” Agharta has more in common with action/adventure titles like Ecstatica than typical…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tim Schaefer GAME DEVELOPER:LucasArts GAME PUBLISHER:LucasArts Copyright 1998, LucasArts Something is rotten in the Land of the Dead. Manny Calavera, salesman for the Department of Death, hasn’t been able to get a client in months that is eligible for a ticket on the Number Nine, the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jonathan Chey & Ken Levine GAME DEVELOPER:Looking Glass Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1999, Looking Glass Technologies Doubtless among the best games ever made, System Shock 2 is a superior RPG/FPS sequel to the 1993 classic System Shock. Anyone who has played and liked the original…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Hight & Brett Sperry GAME DEVELOPER:Westwood Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 2000, Electronic Arts Once again, Westwood has brought a near-perfect dungeon hack to the table with Nox. A necromancer who was orphaned at birth is out to take over Nox. The powers-that-be decide to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SpiderWeb GAME PUBLISHER:SpiderWeb Copyright 2001, SpiderWeb Avernum 2 is the sequel to the remake of the popular game Exile. While this game retains many aspects of its predecessor, it is actually quite different in that it is less linear: there are 3 major quests…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Squaresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Squaresoft Copyright 1996, Squaresoft Treasure Hunter G is another excellent console RPG that was never released outside Japan. It was also the last RPG Squaresoft released for the Super Nintendo system, and shows Squaresoft to be at the height of their SNES…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Willen & Jeff Krantz GAME DEVELOPER:Computer Applications Unlimited GAME PUBLISHER:Computer Applications Unlimited Copyright 1982, Computer Applications Unlimited Dunzhin is the first and probably final game in the slated Warrior of Ras RPG series. The game itself is a fairly typical dungeon crawl with absolutely no…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Matthew Engle & Daniel Burke GAME DEVELOPER:11th Dimension Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:11th Dimension Entertainment Copyright 1997, 11th Dimension Entertainment Two of the best shareware RPGs being sold today, Excelsior Phase One and Excelsior Phase Two are flashbacks to the RPGs in mid-1980s – the good old days…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Matthew Engle & Daniel Burke GAME DEVELOPER:11th Dimension Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:11th Dimension Entertainment Copyright 1995, 11th Dimension Entertainment Two of the best shareware RPGs being sold today, Excelsior Phase One and Excelsior Phase Two are flashbacks to the RPGs in mid-1980s – the good old days…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Emerald Software GAME PUBLISHER:Emerald Software Copyright 1997, Emerald Software Revolt of Don’s Knights is an awful first-person RPG that lacks the depth and charm of more well-known RPGs (Eye of the Beholder 1 and 2 come to mind). The plot is not earth-shattering, but…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dean Sullivan GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Dean Sullivan Ozzie and the Quantum Playwright is an extremely short amateur adventure game that unfortunately doesn’t offer nearly as much gameplay as its high production value may suggest. The game’s plot is quite interesting: thanks to a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1991, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) This precursor of BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights was an online rpg that was running on AOL for most of the nineties. It uses the same engine as the popular goldbox…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cyberflix GAME PUBLISHER:GTE Entertainment Copyright 1995, Cyberflix Dust: A Tale of the Wired West is an excellent adventure that makes up for relatively lackluster puzzles with authentic Western atmosphere and memorable characters and dialogues. Set in the 1880s in Diamond Back, you play a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jesse Clemit & Jeff S. Filhaber GAME DEVELOPER:Westwood Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1997, Westwood Studios While they are best known for the Command and Conquer and Eye of the Beholder series of games, Westwood studios released a gem of an RPG in 1994. Lands of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cyberflix GAME PUBLISHER:GTE Entertainment Copyright 1997, Cyberflix April 14th, 1912. Unbeknownst to crew and passengers, the R.M.S. Titanic is headed for danger and the seeds of World War are about to be planted. It was our hero’s job to stop a certain Col. Zeitel…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ville M?nkk?nen GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Ville M?nkk?nen Magebane 2 is a great 3D single-player freeware RPG designed by Ville M?nkk?nen, who also designed the excellent trio of freeware gems reviewed on this site – Wazzal, The Forge, and Bikez II. If the pedigree…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tom Proudfoot GAME DEVELOPER:Proudfoot Games GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Proudfoot Games Tower of Darkness is the latest and unfortunately last in Tom Proudfoot’s excellent series of Roguelike RPGs that began with 1994’s Nahlakh. ToD takes place in the same world as Proudfoot’s upcoming game Pirates of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Vogel GAME DEVELOPER:SpiderWeb GAME PUBLISHER:SpiderWeb Copyright 2000, SpiderWeb There was once a great RPG game called Exile, which quickly attracted scores of fanatical fans. Then came Exile 2 and then Exile 3. Even after that the series ended with Blades Of Exile, fans craved more…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Squinky GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Squinky Cubert Badbone, P.I. is a fun freeware point-and-click adventure game that more than makes up for its short length with spot-on Noir-ish humor and style. The charming plot goes as follows: you play Cubert Badbone, the only private…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1997, Psygnosis One of the worst games I have ever played, City of Lost Children is a completely uninspired and incrediblye bad computer adaptation of a cult classic movie of the same name. How bad is the game? Games Domain’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SpiderWeb GAME PUBLISHER:SpiderWeb Copyright 2002, SpiderWeb After years of work and study, you have been accepted to the most ancient, powerful and respected of magical societies, the shapers. As a shaper, you have the power to create life, to mold it out of nothing.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Philip Hassey GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anonymous Copyright 1993, Philip Hassey Ultimuh is a great parody of a certain hit RPG series whose name should be all too familiar to you by now if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past 15 years 😉…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Hudson Soft GAME PUBLISHER:Hudson Soft Copyright 1994, Hudson Soft Space Adventure Cobra is a really awful SEGA CD game adaptation of one of my favorite manga/anime series. Written by Buichi Terasawa, the series are about the exciting exploits of Cobra, a wise-cracking, arrogant, cigar-chewing…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Data East GAME PUBLISHER:Data East Copyright 1993, Data East Switch (Panic! in the US) is quite possibly the oddest game I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of decidedly odd games. The story, so much as you need one: in the future, all…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff McCord GAME DEVELOPER:Epyx GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1983, Jeff McCord One of the first Commodore 64 games, Sword of Fargoal is a classic Roguelike that was a considerable success for Epyx, although unfortunately the PC version was never made. The premise is quite straightforward: go down…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Beam International GAME PUBLISHER:Ultra Games Copyright 1991, Beam International Not to be confused with an isometric game of the same name for the Spectrum ZX computer, Nightshade is a highly underrated NES game from Beam Software/Konami (published under its Ultra Games label). The reason…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Hideo Kojima GAME DEVELOPER:Konami GAME PUBLISHER:Konami Copyright 1994, Konami One of the most sought-after console games in existence, Snatcher for the SEGA CD is an excellent cyberpunk action/adventure designed by Hideo Kojima, legendary designer who more or less built Konami’s franchise single-handedly with classics like Metal…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Climax Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1991, Climax Entertainment Shining in the Darkness is a fun dungeon hack RPG for the SEGA Genesis that is relatively obscure, probably because very few Genesis gamers are fans of this RPG style, and fans of hack & slash…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:CAPCOM GAME PUBLISHER:CAPCOM Copyright 1992, TSR Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun is a fun PC-style RPG for the SEGA Genesis console. Based TSR’s D&D RPG system (not AD&D), the game plays like a “lite” version of Ultima VII. The premise: an…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tony Van & John Fulbright GAME DEVELOPER:Bluesky Software GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1994, FASA Corp. Undoubtedly the closest a console game ever gets to capturing the feel of traditional PC RPGs, Shadowrun for the SEGA Genesis is an excellent and faithful adaptation of FASAs famous Shadowrun cyberpunk…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lee Sheldon & Mark Barrett GAME DEVELOPER:Southpeak Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Southpeak Interactive Copyright 1998, Southpeak Interactive Dark Side of the Moon is one of the best “traditional” point-and-click adventure games in recent memory. In this sci-fi mystery set in the far future, you play Jake Wright, a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Heureka-Klett GAME PUBLISHER:Tivola Publishing Copyright 2000, Heureka Bioscopia is an excellent adventure from Heureka-Klett that truly lives up to the “edutainment” billing. The editorial review at Amazon.com says it all about this little-known underdog: “Winner of the 2002 Bologna New Media Prize, this “science…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Heureka-Klett GAME PUBLISHER:Tivola Publishing Copyright 1999, Heureka Physicus is an excellent adventure from Heureka-Klett that truly lives up to the “edutainment” billing. The editorial review at Amazon.com says it all about this little-known underdog: “A collision with a meteorite has stopped Earth from rotating…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Louis Saekow GAME DEVELOPER:Arxel Tribe GAME PUBLISHER:Red Orb Entertainment Copyright 1999, Arxel Tribe Arxel Tribe serves up an interesting, albeit loose adaptation of Wagner’s famous opera “The Ring Cycle” which in turn was based on the Legend of the Nibelungen. The game is set a few…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Nigel Papworth GAME DEVELOPER:DayDream Software GAME PUBLISHER:Dreamcatcher Interactive Copyright 2000, Daydream Entertainment Codename: Raven. Your mission: Infiltrate the Tower of London and swap the crown jewels with fakes in order to prevent a war. This sets the mood for Daydream’s Traitor’s Gate, a suspenseful yarn that…