Flashback DOS - A brilliant game from the 1990's gets a DarkwyndPT review!

Hello and welcome back to Retro Freak Reviews. Let’s begin the new year by examining a classic action game that drew inspiration from previous influential games and, in turn, became influential itself. I am referring to Flashback.

Flashback (also known as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the U.S.) is an action-platform game developed by Delphine Software and initially published by U.S. Gold. Originally released in 1992 for the Commodore Amiga, the game was re-released on the 3DO, MS-DOS, Sega Genesis/Megadrive, and SNES platforms. In 1994, it was ported to the CD-i, FM Towns, PC-98, Acorn 32-bit, and Sega CD/Mega CD systems. The game saw another re-release in 1995 for the Jaguar and Macintosh. Subsequent ports were made for iOS in 2009 and the Sega Dreamcast in 2017.

The Dame was Loaded - Another adventure classic gets a BIG review by DarkwyndPT!

Hello again and welcome back to another requested review. One literature genre that translates pretty well to adventure games seems to be mystery tales, especially detective stories. There’s something special about solving a mystery, even better if it’s in the shoes of a hard-boiled detective. I’m talking about The Dame Was Loaded. 

The Dame Was Loaded is an FMV adventure game produced by Australian developer Beam Software and published by Phillips Interactive Media. It was initially released in 1996 for the PC and Macintosh. It was re-released in 2018 for Windows and Linux at GOG.com.

Tomb Raider - A rather special action adventure classic gets a BIG review by DarkwyndPT!

Hello everyone and welcome back to Retro Freak Reviews. Today, we’ll look at an iconic and influential title that has been on my backlog for several years. I’m talking about the original Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is an action/adventure game developed by Core Design and originally published by Eidos Interactive in 1996 for DOS, Sony Playstation, and the Sega Saturn. It was later released in 2002 for Windows Mobile, in 2003 for the N-Cage, in 2009 for the Playstation 3 and the PSP, and in 2012 for the PS Vita and Windows through the Steam store.

Dune - A 1992 adventure strategy video game, based upon Frank Herbert's science fiction novel gets a Retro Freak Review!

I know that I hark on about licensed games not being very good, but the truth is that there are some really good licensed games out there. And today, we’re going to review one such game based on a movie I quite like (which is, by itself, based on a novel by Frank Herbert). I’m talking about Dune (based on David Lynch’s movie of the same name). Dune is an adventure/strategy game developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Virgin Games. It was originally released in 1992 for the Commodore Amiga and DOS. It was re-released the following year in CD-ROM format for DOS and the Sega Mega-CD/Sega CD.

Superman DOS review - Is it a Plane? Is it a Bird? No it's a DarkwyndPT Review!

If you’ve been reading my reviews, you’ve probably seen that some of them are dedicated to Marvel-licensed games and just one dedicated to a DC Comics-licensed game. So, I’ve decided to review another DC Comics game and one of a superhero that never actually got a good game: Superman. Superman: The Man of Steel is an action game made by Tynesoft Computer Software and originally released in 1989 for the Commodore Amiga, Amstrad CPC (ported by Kinetic Designs), Apple II, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, DOS (ported by Subway Software), Electron, MSX and the ZX Spectrum.

Utopia - A great sci-fi strategy game gets a DarkwyndPT review

“Space: the final frontier“. I’m sure everyone knows this quote. Outer space has always been the ultimate destination of any population, to create new civilisations in new, alien worlds. So much so that space colony management sims could almost be considered its own sci-fi subgenre. So, today we’ll be reviewing Utopia: The Creation of a Nation.

Utopia: The Creation of a Nation is a managerial/strategy game developed by Celestial Software and published by Gremlin. It was originally released in 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was released the following year for DOS and in 1993, it was ported for the SNES/Super Famicom in the US and Japan. In 1994, it was released for the Super Nintendo in the EU and in 1995, it was re-released for DOS in CD-ROM format.

Quest For Glory I - A classic Sierra Fantasy Adventure gets a DarkwyndPT review

For part of an Adventure Sierra retrospective, I decided to do something different. Instead of reviewing another typical graphic adventure, I decided to review a mix of two of my favourite genres (graphic adventure and RPG): Quest for Glory (originally known as Hero’s Quest). Hero’s Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero is a RPG/graphic adventure originally released in 1989 for DOS, a year later for Atari ST and Amiga and in 1991 for the PC-98.

Lands of Lore - The Throne of Chaos - An incredible Dungeon Crawler gets a DarkwyndPT special review!

Wow, more than 6 months without a review. Again, I apologize for this long hiatus but a lot of personal and professional stuff happened (without counting the present crisis). Everything’s more or less fine now, but let’s just say that I had quite the struggle. Anyway, I decided to finally finish and review one of the games I had in my backlog for ages. I’m talking about the 1st Lands of Lore. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a dungeon-crawler RPG developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive. It was originally released in 1993 for DOS and re-released the following year for the FM Towns and again for DOS but in CD-ROM format. In 1995, it was ported for the PC-98.

DuckTales - Another classic DOS review by DarkwyndPT

With the return of the most ear-catching cartoon theme song of all times (and the show too) to TV, I decided to take a look at the videogame. No, not the popular NES version but the DOS version instead. I’m talking about DuckTales (WOO HOO!). DuckTales: The Quest for Gold is an action-platform game developed by Incredible Technologies and published by Walt Disney Computer Software. It was originally released in 1990 for Amiga, Atari ST, Apple II, Commodore 64 and DOS.

But first let’s look at the cover, shall we?

Alley Cat - A very classic game reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Hello and welcome to Retro Freak Reviews, where we take a look at PC games from the 80s and 90s and today we’re going to take a look at my (and several people’s) 1st PC game: Alley Cat for DOS. Alley Cat was created in 1983 by Bill Williams, based on a concept by John D. Harris and originally published by Synapse Software for the Atari 8-bit computers and one year later published by IBM for the MS-DOS.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars BIG review by DarkwyndPT

As I promised, here’s a new review and to make up for the lack of adventure reviews in the past two months, I’m reviewing another fan favourite game (and also a personal favourite): Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is a graphic adventure developed by Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for DOS, Windows, Macintosh and Playstation (in the US, it was released under the title Circle of Blood). It was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002, to Palm OS in 2005 and to Windows Mobile in 2006.

Doom - A special third anniversary review from Retro Freak Reviews!

Welcome one and welcome all to Retro Freak Reviews’ third anniversary! Cue the confetti and the fireworks! It’s hard to believe that’s been 3 years since I started rambling about old computer games. And for this magnanimous occasion, we’ve prepared not only a review of a true classic, but perhaps of the most influential PC game of all times: Doom!

Monster Bash - Apogee Software's creepy platformer classic gets a DarkwyndPT review

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Especially for ghosts, goblins and other creatures of the night. Welcome to our Halloween special review. And this time we have quite the eerie delicacy prepared just for you all. I’m talking about Monster Bash. Monster Bash is an platform game made by Apogee Software and originally released in 1993 for DOS. It was re-released in 2014 for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Body Blows - Kicking ass in this retro review from DarkwyndPT

I would like to start this review with a letter I wrote to Team17 some years ago (not really, but let’s imagine I did): “Dear Team17,

My name is DarkwyndPT (not my real name, obviously) and I’m a big fan of your work, especially the Worms series. Me and my friends have spent countless hours playing these games, killing each other’s virtual worms (that sounded weird). I also enjoy the Alien Breed series, despite not being my cup of tea.

Pipe Mania - A Puzzle game classic reviewed by DarkwyndPT

No, I’m not reviewing another game with two different versions or two different games, it’s actually the same game with two different titles, that’s all! And it’s one of the most ported and influential games of all times. Even if you don’t recognize the title, I assure you that at least you’ll find the gameplay familiar. I’m talking about Pipe Mania aka Pipe Dream.

Pirates! - DarkwyndPT's BIGGEST retro gaming review yet!

Ahoy there mateys! Welcome back to Retro Freak Reviews. And before ye all send me down to Davy Jones’ locker for not posting a review during the entire summer, let me redeem my sinner soul by offering ye this fine review in this finest of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I’m talking about Pirates! (the game, not in general…)

Alone in the Dark - Survival horror classic reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Welcome ghouls, ghosts and other things that go bump in the night, to our horror special review. And this evening, we’re going to take a look at one of the games that built the foundations of the survival horror genre: Alone in the Dark. Alone in the Dark is an action-adventure game made by Infogrames and originally released in 1992 for DOS. It was re-released the following year in CD-ROM format and ported to the FM Towns and PC-98 computers. It was also ported in 1994 to Macintosh and 3DO and the following year to the Acorn 32-bit computer. And in 2014 it was released for iOS.

Syndicate - Action/strategy classic by Bullfrog gets a DarkwyndPT review

Well, this retrospective sure is going slow, isn’t it? Sorry for taking so long, but because of recent work issues, I no longer have a lot of free time. And it happened all of a sudden, without notice, so I couldn’t cancel anything or plan around it. Anyway, today’s review is probably of my favourite Bullfrog title (apart from Theme Hospital and the original Dungeon Keeper, that is): Syndicate.

Master of Magic - A classic 4x strategy game by Microprose reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Like I said in my previous review, this time we’ll take a look at one of my personal favourite games of all times and perhaps the most in-depth game I’ve ever played, Master of Magic. Master of Magic is a 4X strategy game developed by Simtex and published by MicroProse. It was originally released in 1994 for DOS and ported for the PC-98 in 1996.

Duke Nukem - Platformer classic reviewed by DarkwyndPT

I think reviewing the first titles of popular gaming franchises that still continue to nowadays has become sort of a running theme around here, hasn’t it? Then again, a lot of popular gaming characters have humble beginnings, like probably the manliest character in video-game history having started in a shareware title. And believe it or not, I’m talking about Duke Nukem.