Category: Simulations

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Reality Technologies GAME PUBLISHER:Reality Technologies Copyright 1987, Reality Technologies One of a handful of games ever made about sports management, What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School is an excellent business simulation based on Mark McCormack’s classic book. In case you are…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Crawford GAME DEVELOPER:Mindscape GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1987, Chris Crawford Trust and Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot is an obscure gem by Chris Crawford, creator of the acclaimed political simulation Balance of Power. Billed as the worlds first narrative game, Siboot does fulfill this cryptic promise:…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Tomahawk Copyright 1989, Coktel Vision Galactic Empire and its sequel A.G.E. (= Advanced Galactic Empire) are early first-person space/adventure hybrid from Coktel Vision. Both games sports a fast 3D engine with beautiful graphics – as one could expect from Tomahawk/Coktel Vision.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Tomahawk GAME PUBLISHER:Coktel Vision Copyright 1991, Coktel Vision Galactic Empire and its sequel A.G.E. (= Advanced Galactic Empire) are early first-person space/adventure hybrid from Coktel Vision. Both games sports a fast 3D engine with beautiful graphics – as one could expect from Tomahawk/Coktel Vision.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeffery Briggs GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1991, MicroProse The more or less average sequel to F-19 Stealth Fighter. From MobyGames description: “take America’s premiere stealth fighter out for a spin in several battle areas, including the Persian Gulf, Cuba, and even Vietnam. There are various…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Activision Copyright 1990, Dynamix F-14 Tomcat is a fun early flight-sim by Dynamix. Despite the name, the game is actually an arcade game with some simulation elements. This means that the game is much closer to, say, Apache Strike than Falcon 3.0…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lawrence Schick GAME DEVELOPER:Microprose GAME PUBLISHER:Microprose Copyright 1988, Microprose Arguably the first ever tactical simulation of modern warfare, Airborne Ranger was billed as “action simulation,” and it flawlessly fulfills that audacious claim. For the first time, success in a military-themed game requires stealth and careful planning…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Derek Smart GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Derek Smart One of the most controversial?if not THE most controversial?games of all time, epic space simulation Battlecruiser 3000 AD is the ultimate testament to the importance of public relations and commercial considerations to sales of a computer…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Epyx GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1989, Epyx One of the most obscure Epyx games ever made, Snow Strike is an okay arcade-oriented flight sim set in one of the more exotic theatres of operations: Columbia. Your mission is to pilot F-14 fighter on covert operations…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1996, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Silent Hunter is a classic WWII submarine simulation that today remains one of the few titles that could give Dynamix? Aces of The Deep a run for its money.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Eagle Dynamics GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1996, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Su-27 Flanker is a very accurate and detailed flight simulation of the Russian Su-27, developed by Eagle Dynamics, a Russian team, and SSI. It doesn’t have flashy textured graphics, which were…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:subLOGIC GAME PUBLISHER:subLOGIC Copyright 1995, subLOGIC Flight Light by subLOGIC is a solid civilian flight simulator that isn’t on par with the companys acclaimed ATP series in terms of realism, but achieves its goal of introducing newcomers to the world of flight simulation. The…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andy Hollis GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1992, Firaxis F-15 Strike Eagle III is the last and best in MicroProse’s F-15 Strike Eagle series. In this outing, you will pilot the F-15 Strike Eagle in three theatres of operation: Iraq (Desert Storm campaign), North Korea, and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Chase GAME DEVELOPER:Kellogg Creek GAME PUBLISHER:Mindscape Copyright 1996, Mindscape The Doonesbury Election Game: Campaign 96 is a fun, but largely forgotten, simulation of 1996 US Presidential Election that allows the players to create their own tickets, pick campaign staffs from dozens of comic strip Doonesbury…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1988, Firaxis A minority of vocal hard-core flight sim fanatics will try to convince you that anything prior to Falcon 3.0 is closer to a jazzed-up arcade experience than a true simulation. How ironic it is, then, that MicroProse’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier & Andy Hollis GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1989, Firaxis Follow-up to Sid Meier’s legendary early flight sim F-15 Strike Eagle from 1985. For the sequel, he teamed up with Andy Hollis to create yet again an outstanding flight simulation that perfectly balances arcade…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ed Fletcher GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1994, MicroProse “Strap yourself into the cockpit of a Wildcat or a Zero. In 1942: PAW, you experience the ultimate simulation of daring air combat in the South Pacific. Chase down Wildcats, Corsairs or Zeros through relentless gunfire, harass…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1992, MicroProse One of MicroProse’s most overlooked flight sim, Harrier Jump Jet is a very detailed flight simulator of the RAF’s Harrier GR7 and the US Marine Corps’ AV-8B using a – for its time – very innovative gouraud shading…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Simis GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1992, Simis Another excellent, groundbreaking flight sim from Simis. Basically a huge graphical update over AV8B Harrier Assault, released months earlier. Apparently Simis put “Super-VGA” in the name to celebrate the fact that it was the first SVGA flight sim…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Coktel Vision GAME PUBLISHER:Tomahawk Copyright 1991, Coktel Vision Probably the most obscure game ever made by quirky French developer Coktel Vision (Gobliiins, Lost in Time). E.S.S. Mega (a.k.a. European Space Simulator Mega) is a lackluster space shuttle simulation that tries hard to strike a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Simis GAME PUBLISHER:Domark Copyright 1991, Domark A great update of Simis/Domark’s underrated flight sim MiG-29 Fulcrum, which was released one year earlier in 1990. While essentially the same game (with the same campaigns and planes), Super Fulcrum improves on the outstanding predecessor in every…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:General Quarters Software GAME PUBLISHER:General Quarters Software Copyright 1987, General Quarters Software Having Enjoyed GQS’s Midway: the Battle that Doomed Japan (that game is available here at Underdogs), I was much dissapointed with Battleship Bismarck, another naval wargame that deals with the famous battle…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Rosenow GAME DEVELOPER:SubLogic GAME PUBLISHER:SubLogic Copyright 1989, SubLogic One of the least known games from SubLogic, a company famous for releasing dozens of scenario disks for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Thunder Chopper is a modern helicopter simulation, offering nothing new or exciting to flight sim fans.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brent Iverson GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1991, Brent Iverson Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat is a classic modern air combat simulation that set new standard for the genre at the time of its release. Designed by Brent Iverson (LHX Attack Chopper), the game boasts…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edward Lerner GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1989, Edward Lerner Follow-up to EA’s first flight trainer attempt from the mid-eighties, again endorsed by legendary pilot Chuck Yeager. Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 is a nice flight simulator offering many different planes from various eras and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Holobyte GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1991, Spectrum Holobyte One of the best flight simulators ever made for the PC, Falcon 3.0 became an instant classic upon its release in 1991, and the benchmark against which all later “hard-core” modern flight sims would be…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Glen Dill & Paul Conklin GAME DEVELOPER:Microplay GAME PUBLISHER:Microplay Copyright 1992, Microplay Mantis is one of the least known Microplay / Microprose games ever made, and for good reason: it is a mediocre ship-to-ship flight combat simulator that offers nothing new to fans of the genre.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Optimum Resources GAME PUBLISHER:Optimum Resources Copyright 1982, Optimum Resources Car Builder is, as you may have guessed, a car design game. Created by “Optimum Resource, Inc.,” a company with a rather reputable-sounding name, this game excels in giving the user control over the vehicle…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jason Kingsley GAME DEVELOPER:Rebellion GAME PUBLISHER:Rebellion Copyright 1994, Rebellion Eye of The Storm is a solid space simulation that offers fast action and several HUD innovations. Similar to countless games of this ilk, Eye of The Storm casts you as captain of a spaceship, where you…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steven Green GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Digital Enterprises GAME PUBLISHER:Software Toolworks, The Copyright 1988, Oxford Digital Enterprises Not to be confused with action-oriented game of the same name by Grandslam, Mindscape’s Hunt for The Red October is a submarine simulation set in the same period, also based on…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gordon Walton GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Illusions Inc. GAME PUBLISHER:Epyx Copyright 1987, Digital Illusions Inc. Epyx’ Sub Battle Simulator is an early submarine sim that was quite sophisticated for its time. Included were the usual world war II theatres, and plenty of features which have been borrowed numerous…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Konami GAME PUBLISHER:Konami Copyright 1991, Konami Top Gun Danger Zone is a fun arcade-style flight simulator based on the hit Tom Cruise movie of the same name. The goal, of course, is to become a Top Gun abroad the USS Brigham. You’ll get to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Arlton & Ed Dawson GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Holobyte GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1983, Spectrum Holobyte The first World War II submarine simulation ever made for the PC, GATO was a true pioneer in this niche genre, an ambitious sim that features a lot of realistic instruments…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Alex Leavens GAME DEVELOPER:Artech GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1985, Artech Decent conversion of Sydney Development’s (Evolution) very early World War II flight simulator, released for the C64 in 1984. Despite primitive CGA graphics, The Dambusters is surprisingly complex for its time, offering multiple views, control options for…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Martin GAME DEVELOPER:Cascade GAME PUBLISHER:Cascade Copyright 1987, Cascade A solid follow-up to ACE, although not as fun to play as the original. Similar to its predecessor, ACE 2 is an oldie head-to-head air combat flight sim set in modern days of aviation. The game has…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ian Martin GAME DEVELOPER:Cascade GAME PUBLISHER:Cascade Copyright 1987, Cascade ACE is a solid arcade-ish sim oldie that remains surprisingly playable more than a decade after its releae. Instead of simulating real-life airplanes, Cascade Software chose to simulate a hypothetical aircraft called AWAT, which stands for”All-Weather, All-Terrain…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:DigiTek GAME PUBLISHER:Magic Bytes Copyright 1990, DigiTek A decent, humorous business game, Big Business by DigiTek acquired a small following when it was released for the Amiga, although the game’s flaws economics model and repetitive gameplay seriously hamper replay value. As CEO of a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Holger Gehrmann & Tobias Richter GAME DEVELOPER:reLINE Software GAME PUBLISHER:Rainbow Arts Copyright 1990, reLINE Software One of the masterpieces in the niche genre of business management simulation, Black Gold lets you manage the unique and intriguing oil business. When the game was first released as Oil…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Glamus GAME PUBLISHER:Glamus Copyright 2000, Glamus One of the best city building — not to mention free— games ever made, Mobility is an incredibly realistic traffic simulation by German developer Glamus that plays like a cross between SimCity and Transport Tycoon. What makes the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John W. Ratcliff GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1989, John Ratcliff 688 Attack Sub is a classic modern submarine simulation which puts you in command of either the American Los Angeles or the Soviet Alfa class nuclear-powered submarines. Most of the systems you would…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Argonaut Software GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1992, Argonaut Software Birds of Prey is a fairly complex combat flight simulator by Argonaut Software, featuring a lot of different planes and missions. The Amiga version contained a breathtaking intro that is sadly completely missing in the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Garcia GAME DEVELOPER:NovaLogic GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1990, John Garcia Mediocre WWII naval combat simulation, Wolfpack offers you the command of German U-boats, US destroyers, freighters and tankers. Good graphics for its time can’t hide many glaring omissions that are prerequisite for great sub sims, such…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jez San GAME DEVELOPER:Argonaut Software GAME PUBLISHER:MicroPlay Copyright 1989, Argonaut Software StarGlider 2 is an incredible successor to the classic space sim StarGlider, sporting significant improvements over its predecessor. This time you can travel between planets, fight space pirates, trade cargo you got from destroyed ships…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jez San GAME DEVELOPER:Argonaut Software GAME PUBLISHER:Rainbird Copyright 1986, Argonaut Software StarGlider is the legendary (for non-PC systems that is) wireframe 3D action shooter developed by Argonaut Software and Realtime Games. One of the first of its kind ever. As typical for many games of that…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:I-Motion GAME PUBLISHER:I-Motion Copyright 1995, I-Motion Set in Asia during the Middle Ages, you play the role of an aspiring merchant in I-Motion’s Marco Polo, one of the most obscure games from the company. By buying low and selling high and completing missions entrusted…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Core Design GAME PUBLISHER:Core Design Copyright 1991, Core Design ThunderHawk is Core Design’s good Amiga helicopter simulation converted to the IBM-PC. I played this game to death back then on the Amiga. The PC conversion is very well done, as it should be with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Damon Slye GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Dynamix Copyright 1991, Dynamix Updated version of Dynamix’ oldie flight sim A-10 Tank Killer from 1989. This one was released after their huge success with Red Baron two years later and features additional missions including a Desert Storm scenario, overall improved…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Damon Slye GAME DEVELOPER:Dynamix GAME PUBLISHER:Dynamix Copyright 1989, Dynamix A-10 Tank Killer is a classic early flight simulator by Dynamix based on the Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II. Very nice graphics for its time and already showed some signs of the quality that made Dynamix popular with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Glyn Williams GAME DEVELOPER:Software Toolworks GAME PUBLISHER:Software Toolworks Copyright 1994, Software Toolworks From Glyn Williams, co-founder of Particle Systems comes Evasive Action, an innovative combat flight simulator featuring dogfights with planes from as early as 1917 up to the future of space combat of 2064. Overall…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Bates & Rich Banks GAME DEVELOPER:Artech GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1987, Artech Ace of Aces is an old World War II flight simulator offering some neat features for its time like multiple cockpit views and fairly good use of bitmaps. However, it’s more of an arcade…