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.

Fallout - An amazing game reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

Fallout can be considered the godfather of modern RPGs. While it may look and play differently than modern RPGs, almost everything that you see in today’s RPGs, Fallout did in one way or another. Released in 1997 and developed by Interplay, Fallout is certainly one of the most important RPGs ever developed. Its development process was rough and full of problems, but the result is one great game

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.

Wing Commander - An incredible space sim gets a BIG Cola Powered Gamer review

When talking about space sims, sooner or later someone will mention Wing Commander. Developed by Origin Systems, Wing Commander can be considered one of the best and influential space sim ever created.

Wing Commander had a different take on the then established space sim formula, bringing the game and space combat to the levels of Hollywood blockbusters. The game is set in 2654 and follows the Terran Confederation and the ongoing war against a predatory feline race called the Kilrathi (they were inspired by Kzinti of Larry Niven’s “Know Space” series). In Chris Roberts words the game is inspired by WW2, especially the Pacific War. When you start a game you have just finished a training sim session, and you must enter your name and callsign. The player character has no name, but internally in Origin, he was nicknamed “BlueHair”, because his hair although black, had highlights of blue (due to a limited color palette), which was what probably the reason they named him Blair in the later games.

Space Quest I Review - A classic Sci-fi adventure reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

Finding good sci-fi games can be hard, and finding good comedy sci-fi games can be even harder. Fortunately, Sierra developed one of the best comedy sci-fi games ever, Space Quest.

Space Quest: Chapter I – The Sarien Encounter, or more commonly known as Space Quest I, was released in 1986, developed and published by Sierra. After Sierra gained popularity with King’s Quest in 1984, Sierra continued to create more adventure games with various themes, like Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Leisure Suit Larry and of course Space Quest.

Dungeon Hack - A classic Dungeon Crawler reviewed by DarkwyndPT!

Confession time: I never really got into tabletop RPG. I’m not saying it’s bad or something. I’m simply stating that I’ve never had the patience for it. However, I do love RPG videogames, whether they’re western computer style or eastern console style. And my introduction to computer RPGs was also my introduction to dungeon crawlers and to the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. I’m talking about Dungeon Hack.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - An amazing Adventure classic gets a BIG review by Cola Powered Gamer

When playing licensed video games, one will for the most of time encounter bad games, but there are exceptions. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is one such game, that understands its world and characters, and most importantly carries the spirit of the series.

Developed by LucasArts, and released in June 1992, the game was designed by Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein, who rejected the idea of using the unused movie script, and instead, they created their own script. They came up with a final concept, after searching for a suitable plot device. The game uses SCUMM Engine (Scripting Utility for Maniac Mansion), which was previously used in Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island, although an updated version. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was the seventh game to use the SCUMM engine, and at the time required at least a 286 based PC, and there is also a CD-ROM talkie version. Also, the CD-ROM version required EMS memory enabled to load the voice data.

UFO: Enemy Unknown - A brilliant Strategy game reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

When someone asks you what is the best turn-based strategy game, you can confidently say UFO: Enemy Unknown.

UFO: Enemy Unknown (or X-COM: UFO Defense as it was known in North America), released in 1994, and developed Mythos Games and published by MicroProse. UFO: Enemy Unknown was originally planned as a sequel for 1988 game Laser Squad, also developed by Julian Gollop the developer of UFO/XCOM Franchise. UFO: Enemy Unknown is an amalgamation of all of the games Gollop previously worked on, with some expanded concepts. The first games that Gollop developed were also strategy games such as Rebelstar Raiders (1984), Laser Squad (1988) and their sequels were all turn-based strategy games, so Gollop already had a solid foundation to build his next game.

Theme Park - One of the best theme park strategy games gets a DarkwyndPT review!

Now, we’re just upping the ante, aren’t we? Still, it’s impossible to make a Bullfrog retrospective without mentioning another critical and commercial successful title, which is perhaps their most colourful game that also begun its own influential series. I’m talking about Theme Park.

Theme Park is a managerial strategy game developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was originally released in 1994 for the 3DO, Commodore Amiga, DOS and Macintosh. The following year, it was ported to the Amiga CD32, FM Towns, Genesis/Megadrive, Jaguar, PC-98, Playstation, Sega Mega-CD, Sega Saturn and SNES/Super Nintendo. In 2007, it was remade for the Nintendo DS and in 2008, that remake was ported for the Playstation 3 and PSP and in 2012, it was ported for the PS Vita. In 2013, the original version was re-released for Windows and Macintosh. There’s also an iOS remake with microtransactions which was released in 2011, but it wasn’t as well received (I wonder why).

King's Quest - The first graphic adventure ever made for the IBM PC and Sierra’s first big hit reviewed!

We can’t make a Sierra games retrospective without beginning with the first graphic adventure ever made for the IBM PC and Sierra’s first big hit: King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown.

As I mentioned in my Sierra historical retrospective, IBM needed a game to promote their new computer, the PCjr, and approached Sierra to finance it. Sierra took full advantage of the proposal to develop a game engine called Adventure Game Interpreter (AGI) and with it, Roberta Williams developed a game based on an On-line Systems (Sierra’s former name) title: Wizard and the Princess (AKA Adventure in Serenia). Like that one, she wanted to make a game based on fairy tales and fantasy: of a gallant knight in a quest to save a kingdom.

Target Renegade - A classic 8-bit game gets a BIG ZX Spectrum review by Florinthedwarf!

I haven't seen slacks like that since MC Hammer.

Oh lordy. Mr Rene Gade is back and this time he's brought the option of having two players simultaneously kicking the crap out of people at the same time. Could things get better? Well, yes they can as it turns out because you can also pick weapons up and hit people with them this time too. This really does have the makings of possibly the greatest game ever and those things topped with the fact that the much revered and loved reverse-kick-to-the-groin™ makes a comeback, well, (did it just get hot in here?) how can you argue?

Populous - A brilliant Strategy game reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Well, it isn’t too hard to figure out which Bullfrog game I’ll start reviewing for this retrospective. And it’s only fair that I start with Bullfrog’s first and possibly biggest success ever: Populous.

Populous is a managerial/strategy game developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was originally released in 1989 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS. The following year, it was ported to the Genesis/Megadrive, PC-98, Sharp X68000 and the SNES/Super Nintendo. In 1991, it was ported to the Master System and Turbografx-16. In 1992, it was ported to the Acorn 32-bit and the following year for the Macintosh. In 2011, it was re-released for Windows.

The Dig - An all time classic Adventure game gets a DarkwyndPT review

While licensed games or games based on movies have a bad reputation (mainly because most of them are cash grabs), we can’t help but at least glance at games with famous people attached to it. And even after enjoying a playable demo of said game, expectations are naturally high.

The Dig is a point and click graphic adventure developed by LucasArts and released in 1995 for DOS and ported for the Macintosh in 1996. It was re-released in 2002 for Windows 95 and in 2015 for modern Windows, MacOS and Linux. It’s based on an original concept by Steven Spielberg (yes, THAT Steven Spielberg!), which was supposed to be part of his Amazing Stories TV series, then a movie and when that wasn’t feasible, it became a computer game instead.

I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream reviewed by DarkwyndPT

27 June 2018, renowned sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison passed away at the age of 84. Ellison is considered one of the most prolific and influential sci-fi writers of the 20th century and today we’re going to take a look at the video game adaptation of one of his most famous short-stories: I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream.

Splat! - A ZX Spectrum game reviewed by Florinthedwarf.

Argh! A spider! Nah, it's our hero Zippy! (No, not that one.)

SPLAT! Now that I've got your attention, let's talk about this game. Maze games can be a little repetitive, left, right, right, right, left, left etc. pick something up, get stuck, turnaround, right, left - you get the picture. But what if I told you that this was a maze game with a difference? 'You lie!' you cry; but alas this time, I'm not. What if there was a maze game where the walls moved around as well as you. 'That would be crazy!' you would say. Well, welcome to Crazyland*.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit DOS review by DarkwyndPT

Well, it’s Easter again and to celebrate this holiday, we’re going to take a look at an adaptation of perhaps the best live-action and cartoon crossover movie ever made (that also features a rabbit BTW). We’re talking about Who Framed Roger Rabbit! - Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an action game developed by Silent Software and published by Buena Vista. It was originally released in 1988 for the Commodore Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and DOS.

Batman: The Caped Crusader DOS review by DarkwyndPT

I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to review a DC Comics licensed game (since I’ve already reviewed Marvel games). And I’m reviewing the first game ever to be released on the PC of my favourite DC superhero: Batman. Batman: The Caped Crusader is an action-adventure game developed by Special FX and published by Ocean in Europe and Data East in the US. It was originally released in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. It was re-released the following year for DOS.

WWF WrestleMania - The latest DOS review by DarkwyndPT

Any wrestling fan out there (even filthy casuals like me) knows that the upcoming weekend is WrestleMania, definitely the most famous wrestling event in the world. And to celebrate such occasion, let’s look at one of the first wrestling games ever made for the PC, WWF WrestleMania (not to be confused with all the other games with the same title though).

The Age of Heroes - A full C64 review by Hayesmaker of Psystronik's latest release!

An evil wraith has appeared and is sending its legion of the damned across the frozen wastes, mountains and sacred temples, and only you can stop them.  As descendants of the warriors of light, you must travel to the East and end the wraith and his legions for good.  The Age of Heroes is the latest C64 release from Psystronik, developed by Achim Volkers with graphics and sound from Saul Cross and Trevor Storey.

Xenon - The Bitmap Brothers 1980's Shoot 'em Up reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Yes, I know that in my last review I promised to get away from the stars, but I spent the last weekend playing some old arcade titles and thus decided to write a small review that just happen to be of a classic shoot ’em up. Sorry. Anyway, today’s subject is Xenon (the DOS version, obviously).