Category: Role Playing and Adventure Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mathias Genser GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Holobyte GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1995, Spectrum Holobyte One of the most underrated and overlooked games based on Star Trek universe, Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Final Unity (STAFU) is a great adventure game that is very faithful to the hit…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Alien Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Alien Software In 1996, Alien Software released the first three episodes in the Neophyte universe, an RPG gameworld similar in style to anime RPGs commonly seen on console systems. The episodes, all released as shareware although they are…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Alien Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Alien Software In 1996, Alien Software released the first three episodes in the Neophyte universe, an RPG gameworld similar in style to anime RPGs commonly seen on console systems. The episodes, all released as shareware although they are…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tammy Dargan GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1993, Sierra On-Line Arguably the most realistic game about crime ever made, Police Quest 4: Open Season stirred a lot of controversy at the time of its release. The controversy arose due to two main factors: the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brian Fargo & Alan Pavlish GAME DEVELOPER:Interplay GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1989, Interplay My most favorite RPG ever, and one of the very few games that earned a permanent place on my hard drive since the first time I installed it, Wasteland is an epic post-apocalyptic…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Singleton GAME DEVELOPER:Domark GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1995, Domark The first official PC version in Mike Singleton’s celebrated Lords of Midnight series, Lords of Midnight 3: The Citadel is also the last. In stark contrast to its predecessors, LOM3 is an absolute mess of a game…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Singleton GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1996, Psygnosis An awful game that practically spelled the end for Mike Singleton’s long, illustrious career that began with Lords of Midnight for the Spectrum computer. Simply put, The Ring Cycle is basically the (incredibly buggy and flaws) Lords…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ed20 GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Ed20 The Reality on The Norm (RON) games are a series of short games started by some AGS developers. The idea behinds them is that of sharing characters and setting to create a world that seems more alive than…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ben Croshaw GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Ben Croshaw The Reality on The Norm (RON) games are a series of short games started by some AGS developers. The idea behinds them is that of sharing characters and setting to create a world that seems more…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Shawn Guzzo GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Shawn Guzzo Rode Kill: A Day in The Life is the first adventure game by Zombie Chow (Shawn Guzzo), and already it’s quite an achievement. It evolved along with his knowledge of the engine and his abilities. The…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Fragile Bits Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:On Deck Interactive Copyright 2001, Fragile Bits Interactive The Ward is a 3rd person point & click sci-fi adventure game developed by Fragile Bits. In the game you play the role of Walker, an astronaut, who was on a standard…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jane Jensen GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1999, Sierra On-Line Arguably the best adventure game series ever made, Gabriel Knight not only sets new standards of interactive storytelling, but also proves that computer games can be no less literate, mature, well-informed, and thought-provoking than…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jane Jensen GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1996, Sierra On-Line Arguably the best adventure game series ever made, Gabriel Knight not only sets new standards of interactive storytelling, but also proves that computer games can be no less literate, mature, well-informed, and thought-provoking than…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jane Jensen GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1994, Sierra On-Line Arguably the best adventure game series ever made, Gabriel Knight not only sets new standards of interactive storytelling, but also proves that computer games can be no less literate, mature, well-informed, and thought-provoking than…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eric Chahi GAME DEVELOPER:Delphine Software GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1991, Delphine Software One of the most innovative games in any genre, Out of This World (a.k.a. Another World in Europe) is Eric Chahi?s breakthrough game that masterfully combines action, adventure, and artistic cinematography in ways the PC…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:DarkDread GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, DarkDread One of the better freeware indie RPGs ever made, Mysterious Song is a fun console-style RPGs that features hand-drawn 2D tile graphics, rendered battle backgrounds, nice original music score, and solid gameplay. Take on the role of Spear,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Takamoto Miura GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Takamoto Miura Miura Warrior is a fun console-style RPG that saw over 3 years in development. Despite amateurish graphics that makes everything look like 2D paper cutouts without any depth, Miura Warrior is notable for a long list…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:The Oliver Twins GAME DEVELOPER:Codemasters GAME PUBLISHER:Codemasters Copyright 1994, Codemasters Fans of Spectrum computers would recall that Codemasters’ Dizzy series were some of the best games ever made for that computer. Created by a quirky pair of designers who call themselves The Oliver Twins, the series…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:The Oliver Twins GAME DEVELOPER:Codemasters GAME PUBLISHER:Codemasters Copyright 1993, Codemasters Fans of Spectrum computers would recall that Codemasters’ Dizzy series were some of the best games ever made for that computer. Created by a quirky pair of designers who call themselves The Oliver Twins, the series…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:The Oliver Twins GAME DEVELOPER:Codemasters GAME PUBLISHER:Codemasters Copyright 1993, Codemasters Fans of Spectrum computers would recall that Codemasters’ Dizzy series were some of the best games ever made for that computer. Created by a quirky pair of designers who call themselves The Oliver Twins, the series…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:The Oliver Twins GAME DEVELOPER:Codemasters GAME PUBLISHER:Codemasters Copyright 1991, Codemasters Fans of Spectrum computers would recall that Codemasters’ Dizzy series were some of the best games ever made for that computer. Created by a quirky pair of designers who call themselves The Oliver Twins, the series…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alandale GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Alandale Dungeon Master Java is an amazing one-man remake of FTL dungeon crawl classic Dungeon Master. Although based on the FTL classic, DM Java actually sports many improvements over its spiritual predecessor, and new levels. Here is a more…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Take 2 Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Take 2 Interactive Copyright 1998, Take 2 Interactive Black Dahlia is a highly underrated murder mystery adventure that features excellent full-motion video and storyline that outshine some very unfair puzzles. The star of the game is the plot, which is…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Linus Larsson GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Linus Larsson Yet another game coming from the fruitful AGS community. Lately a lot of good games have appeared from this engine– and this underdog is no exception to that. Permanent Daylight is a lighthearted adventure which will…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sean Clark GAME DEVELOPER:LucasArts GAME PUBLISHER:LucasArts Copyright 1995, LucasArts The Dig is a highly underrated sci-fi adventure, one of the few releases from LucasArts that were not commercial blockbusters. I think part of the reason for this is that most people who bought the game expected…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andrew Spencer GAME DEVELOPER:Psygnosis GAME PUBLISHER:Psygnosis Copyright 1994, Psygnosis Ecstatica is one of the most unique and compelling action/adventures ever made, but also one of the most controversial due to its nonchalant depiction of violence and nudity. You are a lone traveler who stopped to pick…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Playmates Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Playmates Interactive Copyright 1997, Playmates Interactive One of the rarest CD-ROM adventure games of all time due to its limited distribution, Duckman: The Legend of The Fall is a great game based on a popular TV cartoon of the same name…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Spiderweb GAME PUBLISHER:Spiderweb Copyright 1996, Spiderweb Exile is a single-player RPG shareware, similar to the old Ultima series in design and appearance, has persisted for years, despite the newer pseudo 3-D creations like Diablo. The Exile series (now being updated to the Avernum series)…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Miller GAME DEVELOPER:Apogee GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1987, SoftDisk Publishing First published by Softdisk in 1987, Kingdom of Kroz is the game that launched Scott Miller’s career as famous founder of shareware giant Apogee. The game’s claim to fame is well chronicled in Apogee FAQ:…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tim Sweeney GAME DEVELOPER:Epic Megagames GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1991, Epic Megagames Probably the most famous ASCII-only game ever made and also the most ambitious, ZZT is the first release from Epic Megagames, a humble shareware developer that is now one of the best game developers in…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Otaku Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:Jast USA Copyright 1992, Jast USA Season of Sakura is one of the very few Japanese “Hentai” (adult) games I like, mostly because it is not just another adult-pictures-collection-wraped-in-a-paper-thin-plot that most Hentai titles are. The fact that Hentai scenes appear only…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Otaku Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:Jast USA Copyright 1994, Jast USA One of the very few “Hentai” games (Japanese adult titles) that I like, True Love is a Hentai adventure game with a difference. You are a highschool boy looking for love and excitement. Your mission…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Free Spirit GAME PUBLISHER:Free Spirit Copyright 1990, Free Spirit From C.E. Forman’s description of Free Spirit’s horrendous adult adventure games: “Free Spirit Software published a number of adult text adventure games for PC and possibly other platforms. All of their titles (with the exception…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Arxel Tribe GAME PUBLISHER:Cryo Interactive Copyright 2000, Arxel Tribe Faust (a.k.a. The Seven Games of Sin) is a great surrealistic adventure game loosely based on Goethe?s magnum opus of the same name. The game recalls The Dark Eye and Bad Day on Midway in…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Omni Creative Group GAME PUBLISHER:Dreamcatcher Interactive Copyright 1999, Omni Creative Group One of the best adventure games I’ve played at the turn of 21st century, Riddle of The Sphinx is an atmospheric and absorbing adventure set in modern Egypt. Given its largely empty world…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Bill Fisher GAME DEVELOPER:SoftLab Laboratories GAME PUBLISHER:SoftLab Laboratories Copyright 1991, SoftLab Laboratories One of the most obscure horror games ever made, SoftLab’s Last Half of Darkness attracted a small following when the first part was released as freeware in 1991, and quickly spread over BBS (=…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Megasoft Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:FormGen Copyright 1994, FormGen Although definitely one of the worst RPGs ever made, Disciples of Steel nevertheless deserves recognition for its designers’ efforts to combine traditional RPG elements with tactical options commonly associated with strategy and wargames. Unfortunately, confusing interface and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Revolution GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 2001, Revolution Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado is a fun adventure game for kids that was released with surprisingly little fanfare by UBI Soft, despite having the coveted Dreamworks movie license and designer credit to Revolution…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:7th Level GAME PUBLISHER:7th Level Copyright 1996, 7th Level One of 7th Level’s most obscure releases before fading into obscurity, Ace Ventura is a decent cartoon adventure starring the wacky cartoon series of the same name which was popularized by a Jim Carrey movie.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Presto Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Sanctuary Woods Copyright 1998, Presto Studios Third and last in Presto Studio’s underrated The Journeyman Project series, Legacy of Time is a somewhat disappointing end to the great series, although it does address all the major shortcomings of the previous two…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Flanagan & Phil Saunders GAME DEVELOPER:Presto Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Sanctuary Woods Copyright 1998, Presto Studios The Journeyman Project 2: Buried In Time is a much superior sequel to the solid but ahead-of-its-time The Journeyman Project that failed miserably due to poor conversion from Macintosh to PC…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Dean Lester GAME DEVELOPER:Krisalis GAME PUBLISHER:Krisalis Copyright 1992, Krisalis Shadoworlds is the less-known sequel to Domark’s underrated RPG Shadowlands, this time with a fantasy plot replaced by sci-fi setting. Similar to Shadowlands, you control a party of four characters, sent to investigate the mysterious lack of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ben Croshaw GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Ben Croshaw The Rob Blanc games are a very unknown adventure series made by Ben Croshaw. This is the third installment, and undoubtably the best one. The first game was very short, and told the story of how…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Carmack GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1990, SoftDisk Publishing Dark Designs I and II are decent dungeon romp RPGs similar to early Wizardry and Ultima games: multi-character party, and first-person perspective that shifts to top-down view in combat. In and of themselves, both…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Carmack GAME DEVELOPER:SoftDisk Publishing GAME PUBLISHER:SoftDisk Publishing Copyright 1991, SoftDisk Publishing Dark Designs I and II are decent dungeon romp RPGs similar to early Wizardry and Ultima games: multi-character party, and first-person perspective that shifts to top-down view in combat. In and of themselves, both…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tiger Media GAME PUBLISHER:Tiger Media Copyright 1992, Tiger Media Murder Makes Strange Deadfellows is a standard “Whodunit?” mystery game. You play the role of Nick Steere, you and your family have gathered for the will reading of your great uncle Randolph Steere. After the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Julian Lefay & Ted Peterson GAME DEVELOPER:Bethesda Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:Bethesda Softworks Copyright 1995, Bethesda Softworks A spectacular successor to The Elder Scrolls: Arena which introduces the fantasy world of Tamriel to RPGers, Daggerfall is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious and in-depth RPGs ever created. As…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ben Bishop GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Ben Bishop According to The Word Spy, an “Egoboo” is a “Recognition and praise for a task well done, particularly a task that is performed for free; (ego + boost).” This definition suites this game perfectly: it’s a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Phillip Reed GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Phillip Reed Larry Vales II is a hilarious freeware adventure game by Phillip Reed, creator of cult classic Larry Vales: Traffic Division. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I will mostly be comparing Larry Vales II to the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Al Lowe GAME DEVELOPER:Sierra On-Line GAME PUBLISHER:Disney Copyright 1987, Sierra On-Line The Black Cauldron is a fun adventure for kids based on a quite obscure Disney’s movie of the same name, which was in turn based on the popular “Chronicles of Prydain” series of children’s books…