Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
Author: Adam - Published: 6 April 2020, 9:17 pm
Heroquest is a conversion of the famous fantasy-themed board game into an isometric RPG created by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in 1991 for the Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and MS-DOS.
In the original board game, a human player had to take the role of the evil wizard Morcar; in the computer adaptation, the AI will play that part. The game is strictly loyal to the original game, and it follows the rules, heart to heart, a choice that divided the critics. In fact, Gremlin made a completely different choice with Space Crusade (despite the ruleset of both HeroQuest and Space Crusade being identical).
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Author: Adam - Published: 6 April 2020, 6:34 pm
Star Control is an action/strategy game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in 1990 for Amiga and MS-DOS.
It is the first installment of the Star Control series that got a few sequels (see Star Control II and The Ur-Quan Masters) due to its immense popularity among players. Star Control is inspired by age-old classics such as Archon: The Light and the Dark and Spacewar and has some aspects of them embedded in its gameplay.
The game takes on the common theme of good vs. bad coming into play in a futuristic world where the universe's fate rests in your hands. Most of the story is based on classic science fiction tales, mainly along the lines of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. The two sides of the coin are namely the Alliance of Free Stars and the Ur-Quan Hierarchy. These two races have their own traits and spaceships that are unique to them. The ships, which are probably the main highlight of the game as everything revolves around them, have their own unique characteristics such as speed, weaponry, and shields. In my opinion, this is what separated the game from the countless other arcade space games that I have played; the unique ships and the strategy that comes with them brought along a surprising amount of depth that was not usually seen before this game.
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Author: Gustavo - Published: 6 April 2020, 1:57 pm
Quake is a first-person shooter developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive in 1996.
With the success it had with Doom in 1993, id Software decided to capitalize its momentum and come up with a title that not only contains all the elements that placed this legendary title on the pedestal it deserves but to take a step forward and perfect it. In this context, where the company founded by Romero and the 2 Carmack set the goal to clean the raw gem they had created with its predecessor, Quake was born.
This entry place itself in a dystopian future. After discovering and opening inter-dimensional portals, the human race is invaded by a horde of demons and is on the verge of extinction. Thus, the player embodies the skin of a soldier trapped in this apocalypse that must not only destroy all enemies that come its way, but also its leader, a demon called Shub-Niggurath.
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Author: Adam - Published: 5 April 2020, 12:16 pm
Extreme Pinball is a pinball game developed by Digital Extremes and published by Electronic Arts for DOS and PlayStation in 1995. It is the successor to Epic Pinball.
The game is pretty simple as it is pinball; you have to hit the structures placed on the ball to gain points. The goal is to get the highest score possible, sealing your name in the glory list of contenders. Often, your ball would whizz around and smack something to give you something extra, like a few points or an additional shot. The game allows you to choose the number of balls you want per round, and players can add a second player to compete with.
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Author: Adam - Published: 4 April 2020, 5:53 pm
Elfmania is a 2D fighting game developed by Terramarque and published by Renegade Software in 1994 for the Amiga.
Elfmania has some stunning graphics; most of the background is animated and looks 3D, fading into the distance. The characters are well-detailed with nice touches, which showed the passion that went into designing the game, certain areas of the background were even animated at set points, and the spectators would move and blink.
There are six champions available for play, although you cannot use them without purchasing them through a complex in-game gold system. In the beginning, you start with just enough gold to hire the weakest 3, and you must slowly ramp up gold to purchase the rest, but as you win a fight and collect some gold, the price of a champion increases.
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Author: Adam - Published: 4 April 2020, 12:14 am
Stunts (4D Sports Driving in Europe) is a first-person 3D racing game that was developed by Distinctive Software and published by Brøderbund in 1990.
Brøderbund is not someone new to the spotlight, as they were pretty successful in their previous titles (Choplifter, Lode Runner, Karateka, to name a few). 4D Sports Driving should not be considered a simulator, in fact, it is not very realistic. On the other side, it's accessible and engaging, thanks to the excellent controls. I have previously played games similar to 4D Sports Driving, such as Stunt Driver and Hard Drivin', but this one stood out from the rest the moment I started playing.
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