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.

Bio Menace - Classic action game from the 90's gets a Cola Powered Gamer review

Apogee during the early 90s was considered the king of platform games. While most of them can be considered family-friendly, Bio Menace is more action-oriented and definitely not PG-13. Developed by Jim Norwood, with help from id Software (mainly John Carmack), and published by Apogee Games, it was released in 1993. The game was developed under the working title “Bio Hazard”, it was supposed to be released in November of 1991, but due to modifying the engine (the same one used in Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy), it spent two years more years in development. Excluding the engine and the music (by Bobby Prince), the majority of the game was created by its designer, Jim Norwood.

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!

Wing Commander Privateer - Cola Powered Gamer reviews an adventure space flight simulation classic!

After the success of Wing Commander II, the franchise received its first spin-off game. Wing Commander: Privateer or simply Privateer. It can be looked at as Origin Systems take on open-ended gameplay, and their take on the legendary Elite (1984).

Released in the Fall of 1993, Privateer had an interesting development history. The working title for the game was “Trade Commander”, and at one point Origin Systems considered naming all of their games with the suffix “Commander”. The game uses a vastly improved Wing Commander II engine, with some features that were also used in Strike Commander, a different Origin game. It was designed by Joel Manners, and it was helped by Chris Roberts, who at the time was working on Wing Commander II, Strike Commander and Privateer.

Nixy and the Seeds of Doom - High grade ZX Spectrum homebrew gets a Florinthedwarf review!

The Seeds of Doom don't sound very safe, Nixy! Don't go in!!

Nixy is back! Fresh from completing her last quest in The Glade Sprite, she's back yet again and looking for trouble. She must have a lust for danger, I tell you. Well, we all have our vices I guess - I personally can't say no to a pie so if Pixy can't say no to a dangerous quest, who am I to judge? With another brilliant loading screen from pixel art aficionado Andy Green and a quite brilliant soundtrack from Ricardo Vieira, Nixy 2 has the foundations to be another brilliant game from the brain of Andy Johns.

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.

Under The Radar: Cyberpunk Games - Cola Powered Gamer gives us a special treat for October!

Cyberpunk was covered extensively in film, TV and of course video games. The games covered here will be those that you probably haven’t heard of or have simply gone under your radar. So here's a personal selection from me, Cola Powered Gamer!

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.

The Secret of Monkey Island - An adventure Pirate classic reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

When discussing adventure games, one game will always come up, The Secret of Monkey Island. The Secret of Monkey Island or simply Monkey Island I was developed by Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts) and released in 1990. Created by now industry legends Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, and Dave Grossman, it was created due to developers frustration with contemporary adventure games. Ron Gilbert conceived the idea in 1988, and he first wrote a couple of short stories about pirates

Space Quest III - A classic Sci-fi adventure sequel reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

Space Quest III is one of the funniest and self-aware video games ever. An improvement on almost everything from the previous two games, Space Quest II and it really shows. Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon, developed by Sierra and its duo Two Guys From Andromeda, and released in 1989, it’s simply known as Space Quest III. The game brings a few improvements and several changes.

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.

Wing Commander II - Cola Powered Gamer reviews a brilliant sequel!

Following the success of Wing Commander, Origin System decided to create a sequel. Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi, or simply Wing Commander II is everything a good sequel should be. Released in 1991, about the year after the release of the first game, Wing Commander II had several improvements over its predecessor.

ZX-VGA-JOY - A fabulous speccy hardware review by dakidski!

Away from all the gaming reviews and articles, today I shall be looking at with an exclusive review of a new piece of hardware for our retro gaming systems called the ZX-VGA-JOY; a new peripheral for all ZX Spectrums, Sinclair and Amstrads alike which allows the user to connect any kind of VGA monitors, Kempston joystick and computer reset, across a multitude of screen modes and much much more!

Cat Quest II out now on Steam - Thermoptic reviews a NEW release!

I am a big fan of the original indie game Cat Quest that was released back in 2017 by The Gentlebros, and now the sequel is finally here! Cat Quest is a fast paced open world action RPG that is super easy to pick up and play. It features gorgeous visuals, a great soundtrack and a lot of quests. Fans of Cat Quest won't be disappointed at the sequel as it gives you all the best things of the original game but adds new and exciting features and a new world to explore!

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…)

Wheelie - Riding Motorbikes ZX Spectrum style in a florinthedwarf review!

..but what if it doesn't come back?

If, like me, you're waaaay too scared to go anywhere near a motorbike, let alone get on one, then Wheelie would have been the closest you would have got to experience the thrill of motorbike racing. Also, like me, you would need to be the same age and have owned a Spectrum when I first started playing this game as otherwise the reference will have been lost on you. I'll assume you are and did so we can saddle up, helmet up (on?) jump into those leathers and get choking that throttle. It's time to hit the road and avoid some giant hedgehogs. Yes, giant hedgehogs - nothing wrong with that, is there?

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.

Lost Patrol - Retro game set during the Vietnam War in 1966 reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

Vietnam War, like all wars in history, is greatly covered in almost all types of media, and video games are no exceptions. Lost Patrol was among the first games that focused on the Vietnam War, but it covered it in a very unique way. Developed by the duo Ian Harding and Simon Cooke (Shadow Development), and released by Ocean Software around Christmas of 1989 (MS-DOS version in 1991), Lost Patrol had interesting development history.

Silent Hill - Playstation game of Horror reviewed by Cola Powered Gamer

Developed in 1999, near the end of the PS1 age, Silent Hill uses an established formula of survival horror and changes it to make something different. Silent Hill uses a psychological horror, rather than an action approach and visceral horror seen in games like Resident Evil.

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.