Category: Simulations

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Actionsoft GAME PUBLISHER:Actionsoft Copyright 1988, Actionsoft Search & Destroy and Up! Periscope are two early submarine sims have a lot in common even though they were produced by publishers who lived thousands of miles across: Search & Destroy was designed and released in the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:BAO Ltd. GAME PUBLISHER:BAO Ltd. Copyright 1996, BAO Ltd. Undoubtedly one of the best air traffic controller simulations ever made, Tower is an outstanding Windows 3.1 update of the venerable sim ATC (a.k.a. Tracon 2) by the master of flight simulators and longtime partner…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Integration GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1993, Spectrum Holobyte The original member of the ruling triumvirate (the other two being TFX and F-14 Fleet Defender, also on this site), and a definite triumph of content over style. Ok boys and girls, this sim is…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:C. Boswell & D. K. Marshall GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Integration GAME PUBLISHER:Datasoft Copyright 1987, Datasoft Digital Integration’s early helicopter sim already includes many excellent features that would become the company’s hallmarks: realistic flight model, authentic instrument panels, varied missions, and even weather effects. Even in CGA you’d…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Three-Sixty Pacific GAME PUBLISHER:Three-Sixty Pacific Copyright 1987, Three-Sixty Pacific This is a flight simulation game with a good premise: You fly F-105’s over Vietnam, mainly in “Wild Weasel” missions – i.e. air defense suppresion. Unfortunately the game doesn’t manage to rise even to average…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lawrence Holland & Noah Falstein GAME DEVELOPER:LucasFilm Games GAME PUBLISHER:LucasFilm Games Copyright 1989, LucasFilm Games Shortly after the release of Battlehawks 1942, Lucasarts released this game, which is essentially the same as Battlehawks, only this time the action happens in Europe, having the British and the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Martin Kenwright GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Image Design (DID) GAME PUBLISHER:OCEAN Copyright 1993, Digital Image Design (DID) Ah the 3rd member of the 1994 ruling triumvirate of military flight sims (the other two being F-14 Flight Defender and Tornado, TFX sported the best graphics around at the time,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Pete Cooke & John Twiddy GAME DEVELOPER:CRL Group GAME PUBLISHER:Thunder Mountain Copyright 1987, Thunder Mountain One of the best games ever made for Commodore 64 that sadly got little attention on other systems, Tau Ceti is a classic space simulation that is still regarded by some…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1992, MicroProse One of the best and most overlooked naval wargame ever, Task Force 1942 lets you command either the American or the Japanese fleet in the most crucial naval battles of World War 2 in the Pacific theatre. The…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Spectrum Holobyte GAME PUBLISHER:Spectrum Holobyte Copyright 1991, Spectrum Holobyte Tank is a modern tank simulation that showcases Spectrum Holobyte’s strength in ultra-realistic simulation, although it never achieve the level of acclaim that Falcon 3.0 garnered. Tank is similar to Microprose’s best-selling M-1 Tank Platoon…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Powell GAME DEVELOPER:Particle Systems GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1993, Particle Systems This is another sadly forgotten classic– similar to its descendant-in-spirit Sub Culture, Subwar 2050 casts you as a young submarine pilot who work for a global conglomerate in the earth’s far future. You must contend…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mike Williamson & Jonathan Small GAME DEVELOPER:Criterion Studios GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1997, UBI Soft Sub Culture is THE best underwater simulation game I have ever played, bar none (well, except for Archimedean Dynasty perhaps). In the spirit of mercenary games e.g. Privateer, Sub Culture is…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rick Tiberi & Brent Iverson GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1992, Brent Iverson Every once in a while, some designers seem to have the gut to do something different. Exceptional technical achievements aside (Falcon series and Flanker come to mind), in the flight sim…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Adrian Stephens GAME DEVELOPER:Assembly Line, The GAME PUBLISHER:Disney Copyright 1992, Assembly Line, The One of the most unique and underrated simulations ever, Disney’s classic game lets you perform wild aerial stunts in planes that range from a biplane to a duck (yes, a duck). You can…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Noah Falstein GAME DEVELOPER:LucasFilm Games GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1988, LucasFilm Games Probably the most obscure game LucasFilm (now Lucasarts) ever released, Strike Fleet is a surprisingly good modern-day naval simulation, especially in light of their expertise in adventure games. It’s not realistic by a long…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Roberts GAME DEVELOPER:Origin Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Origin Systems Copyright 1993, Origin Systems This sim is unique due to the fact that you are not playing a the role of a military pilot like in other combat flight sims. Instead, you play as the commander of the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Tom Loughry GAME DEVELOPER:Accolade GAME PUBLISHER:Accolade Copyright 1989, Accolade Steel Thunder is a fun tank simulation from Accolade that emphasizes arcade-style action over realism. Take control of one of four WW2 American tanks ranging from the M1 to Abrams, and engage in shootouts in both day…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Paul Grace GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1994, Paul Grace In general, naval battles unfold in a slower pace than other land or air battles. Two fleets might be searching for each other (or eyeing each other) for days before a final, fiery confrontation…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cavlogix Corp. GAME PUBLISHER:Cavlogix Corp. Copyright 1998, Cavlogix Corp. SpecTrader+ Stock Market Trading Game is a challenging securities market trading simulation. You can buy and sell stocks, bonds, currencies, and penny stock securities in randomly generated market scenarios. SpecTrader+ uses the actual forward pricing…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1985, Firaxis Ever fancy yourself a flying postman? If yes, then I might have a game for you. Meet Solo Flight, the very first flight sim from MicroProse and the genius designer Sid Meier. In this little game, you…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Yoot Saito GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1994, Maxis A cool little game by Japanese designer Yoot Saito was a big hit on the Macintosh but received only lukewarm response from the PC crowd. Although one can find many faults with the game’s underlying mechanics, gameplay…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1997, Maxis SimPark teaches the importance of ecological balance in visual and easy-to-grasp ways. For example, the player soon learns that if no flat-leafed flowers are planted, the park won’t attract bees. And if the park doesn’t attract bees, pollenation…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ken Karakotsios GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1992, Maxis Maxis once again lets you play God– but in contrast to SimEarth‘s macro-management, Simlife lets you design and manipulate the genes of plants and animals to see how they behave in a simulated environment. You can manipulate…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Matthew Stible GAME DEVELOPER:Intelligent Games GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1995, Intelligent Games My most favorite “Sim” game of all time aside from SimCity 2000, SimIsle is a fun and challenging tropical island simulation. You must manage the difficult balance between economic success and ecological harmony. For instance,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Hiles GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1994, Maxis Possibly the dryest Sim- game Maxis ever made, SimHealth puts you in control of the U.S. health care system– evidently Maxis felt that the heated debates during the 1996 presidential election would induce many fans to try…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eric Albers GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1993, Maxis You own a plot of good farmland. Do you want a small family farm–or an agricultural profit center? Do you want to produce food for the local town–or feed the world’s hungry masses? Do you use the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Fred Haslam & Will Wright GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1988, Maxis This more ambitious follow-up to SimCity lets you play God– take charge of an entire planet from its birth to its death–10 billion years later. Guide life from its inception as single-celled microbes to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Justin McCormick & Will Wright GAME DEVELOPER:Maxis GAME PUBLISHER:Maxis Copyright 1989, Maxis After letting you play mayor and God, Maxis brings you down to the ground– and under it, with Simant, one of the most unique games ever released. As leader (ant God?) of the black…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Virgin Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1992, Virgin Interactive Shuttle is a vastly underrated and undersold simulation, probably because it is a “hard” SCI-FI game with a steep learning curve. This is the perfect game for would-be astronauts. Its a very realistic (and the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Robert Antonick GAME DEVELOPER:DC True GAME PUBLISHER:DC True Copyright 1994, DC True An intriguing– if a bit too esoteric and confusing– political simulation, this game lets you become the U.S. President who must maintain approval rating (ahh– that penultimate goal of presidency ) and deal with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Capstone GAME PUBLISHER:IntraCorp Copyright 1989, IntraCorp Search for the Titanic is a simulation of wreck-hunting game that offers plenty of realistic options. As in its spiritual descendant Sea Rogue, you are in command of a wreck hunting expedition. However, the emphasis here is on…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Baron GAME DEVELOPER:Brderbund GAME PUBLISHER:Brderbund Copyright 1987, Brderbund Search & Destroy and Up! Periscope are two early submarine sims have a lot in common even though they were produced by publishers who lived thousands of miles across: Search & Destroy was designed and released in…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Andre Gagnon & Sonny Hays-Eberts GAME DEVELOPER:Electronic Arts GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1993, Andre Gagnon & Sonny Hays-Eberts One of the best 3D tactical combat simulations, I really don’t know why this game never made it into any Hall of Fame. In SEAL Team, you will…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Three-Sixty Pacific GAME PUBLISHER:Three-Sixty Pacific Copyright 1990, Three-Sixty Pacific An excellent World War 2 tank simulation that went unnoticed by many, Sands of Fire puts you in control of the American tank unit that ranges from 1 to 6 tanks in the war efforts…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Locksoft GAME PUBLISHER:Locksoft Copyright 1993, Locksoft Definitely one of the most esoteric sims you’ll ever find, Safe Opening Simulator, as the name implies, lets you try your hands at cracking safes from various European manufacturers. It’s more like a Safecracking 101 course than a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MicroIllusions GAME PUBLISHER:MicroIllusions Copyright 1988, MicroIllusions A novel and intriguing attempt to model real-life dating that doesn’t quite pull it off, Romantic Encounters at The Dome seems like a perfect program for anyone who has been rejected by his or her date one too…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Silmarils GAME PUBLISHER:Silmarils Copyright 1994, Silmarils This is one of the most intriguing game concepts of all time– and the most frustrating. Your goal is simple: escape from alien planet Alcibiade. The process, however, is an ordeal that will leave masochistic gamers chuckling with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stephen Newburg GAME DEVELOPER:Simulations Canada GAME PUBLISHER:Simulations Canada Copyright 1993, Simulations Canada Like most other releases from underrated developer Simulations Canada (SimCan), Red Sky at Morning lives up to their normal complex gameplay and high realism. The game is a simulation of a hypothetical world-wide naval…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Sid Meier GAME DEVELOPER:MicroProse GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 1988, Firaxis Not MicroProse‘s finest hour, but a great game nonetheless. This game is definitely neither a “realistic” nor “deep” sub sim (compared with, say, 688 Attack Sub), but that’s not what it is meant to be: this is…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steve Estvanik GAME DEVELOPER:Avalon Hill GAME PUBLISHER:Avalon Hill Copyright 1985, Avalon Hill “A tactical simulation of trireme warfare; an often-ignored subject in wargaming, the treatment herein rendered it hors de combat.” [excerpt from M. Evan Brooks’ Homepage] There’s not much more I can add about the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:T. Nagahama GAME DEVELOPER:ArtDink GAME PUBLISHER:Seika Copyright 1991, Seika Railroad Empire is an older version of ArtDink’s underrated A-Train railroad simulation that was published by Maxis in the U.S. Although two years older than its better-known predecessor (no surprises here, given that it was hardly sold…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:R. Leigh Ardrey GAME DEVELOPER:Interplay GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1992, Interplay A fun but ultimately too dry stock market simulation that tries to make trading stocks more fun by adding neat options like the ability to call your Mom for more money (EG), luxury goods you can…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Lawrence Holland GAME DEVELOPER:Avantage GAME PUBLISHER:Avantage Copyright 1987, Avantage Before he developed a string of venerable flight sims for LucasArts (Their Finest Hour, X-Wing etc.), Larry Holland designed this exceptional NASA mission simulator that gives you the chance to build a space station. This gargantuan task…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Takami Akai GAME DEVELOPER:Gainax GAME PUBLISHER:Gainax Copyright 1996, Gainax One of the most unique and compelling games ever made, Princess Maker 2 is an excellent ?life simulation? from Gainax, and the only game in the Princess Maker series to have been translated into English. As to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Nelson Hernandez GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1988, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) President Elect puts you in control of any US presidential campaign between 1960 – 1988, in either historical or ahistorical mode. The game is turn-based, and you must…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Chase GAME DEVELOPER:Cineplay Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Cineplay Interactive Copyright 1992, Cineplay Interactive One of the most comprehensive political simulations ever released, Power Politics puts you in command of a US presidential campaign. In contrast to the realism of SSI’s excellent President Elect, here you can run…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Rolf-Dieter Klein & Martin Ulrich GAME DEVELOPER:Aegis International GAME PUBLISHER:Aegis International Copyright 1992, Aegis International One of the best and least known business sims ever, this game puts you in control of a shipping company. Entertaining choices abound, from choosing cargoliners to deciding whether or not…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Chris Roberts GAME DEVELOPER:Origin Systems GAME PUBLISHER:Origin Systems Copyright 1994, Origin Systems Pacific Strike is based on a similar engine as Strike Commander. In this game, you play a naval aviator during WWII in the Pacific Theater of Operations. You begin your career during the surprise…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Noah Falstein GAME DEVELOPER:LucasFilm Games GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1986, LucasFilm Games The first and perhaps the only hydrofoil simulation, P.H.M. Pegasus has great graphics and gameplay for its time, although the scenarios were less interesting than the much-improved sequel Strike Fleet. Its emphasis on fun…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Charles Moylan GAME DEVELOPER:Big Time Software GAME PUBLISHER:Avalon Hill Copyright 1996, Avalon Hill Excerpt from Games Domain review: “Over the Reich (OtR) is a simulation of the air war over Europe late in WWII. But it’s not your traditional joy-stick-driven flight simulator. The “sequel” to Big…