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Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac

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Latest Game Reviews

Archon: The Light and the Dark

Archon: The Light and the Dark

Author: Maddie - Published: 13 July 2025, 11:59 pm

Archon: The Light and the Dark is a strategic game developed by Free Fall Associates and originally released for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1983. Created by Paul Reiche III and Jon Freeman, this innovative title combines chess-like strategic gameplay with real-time combat sequences, creating a unique hybrid experience that challenged traditional gaming conventions.

The game achieved widespread popularity through its Commodore 64 version, which showcased the superior audiovisual capabilities of Commodore's machine and helped establish Archon as a classic of 1980s gaming. The enhanced graphics and sound on the C64 allowed the game's fantasy chess concept to truly shine, with more detailed character sprites and atmospheric audio that brought the mystical battlefield to life. It was subsequently ported to numerous other platforms including the Amiga, Apple II, MS-DOS, NES, and Atari ST, though the Commodore 64 version remains the most fondly remembered.

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Need for Speed: Underground

Need for Speed: Underground

Author: Maddie - Published: 12 July 2025, 12:24 pm

Need for Speed: Underground is a street racing game developed by Pocketeers for the Game Boy Advance and released in 2003. This handheld adaptation of Electronic Arts' popular racing series, The Need for Speed, represents one of the most technically ambitious driving games attempted on Nintendo's portable hardware. It uses a fully polygonal engine that renders both cars and tracks as texture-mapped polygons.

The original Need for Speed: Underground had revolutionized the franchise by shifting focus from exotic supercars and scenic locations to the underground street racing scene, complete with car customization, neon lighting, and urban environments. This Game Boy Advance version successfully captures the essence of that transformation, bringing the fast-paced world of illegal street racing to a portable format with faithful results.

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Football Manager: World Cup Edition

Football Manager: World Cup Edition

Author: GN Team - Published: 11 July 2025, 6:00 pm

Football Manager: World Cup Edition 1990 is a football management simulation developed by Addictive Games and released in 1990. The game was released for various home computers including the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. This specialized edition represents the third entry in the groundbreaking Football Manager series, positioned between Football Manager 2 (1988) and Football Manager 3 (1992), and coincided with the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy.

The original Football Manager, released by Addictive Games in 1982 for the ZX Spectrum, holds the distinction of virtually creating the football management genre from scratch. Kevin Toms' pioneering design established the fundamental template that would influence countless successors, introducing concepts like player statistics, tactical formations, transfer markets, and match simulations that became industry standards. This inaugural title's success on platforms like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 proved that players were hungry for the strategic depth and long-term engagement that football management games could provide.

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Final Match Tennis

Final Match Tennis

Author: GN Team - Published: 10 July 2025, 7:54 pm

Final Match Tennis is a tennis simulation developed and published by Human Entertainment exclusively for the PC Engine in 1991. This title stands as the most sophisticated tennis game available on NEC's 16-bit system, offering a level of gameplay depth that rivals even modern tennis simulations and surpasses contemporary competitors like World Court Tennis and Tennis Cup.

The game's deceptively simple visual presentation masks an incredibly complex control system that captures the nuances of real tennis with remarkable precision. Human Entertainment has implemented a control scheme that allows players to execute the full spectrum of tennis techniques - powerful smashes, delicate drop shots, aggressive volleys, and precisely placed lobs with varying degrees of topspin and backspin. The sophistication extends to shot placement, where subtle joystick movements determine whether a forehand drives down the line or cuts across court with devastating angle.

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Pinkie

Pinkie

Author: GN Team - Published: 8 July 2025, 11:47 pm

Pinkie is a platform game developed by Millennium Interactive and designed by Scott Williams for the Amiga in 1994. The game features a pink elephant protagonist navigating through various colorful environments in what represents one of the later entries in the Amiga's platformer catalog.

Unlike many Amiga platformers that received multi-platform releases, Pinkie remained largely exclusive to Commodore's machine, limiting its exposure compared to more widely distributed titles like Superfrog or the James Pond series. This exclusivity, combined with its distinctly child-oriented approach, meant that Pinkie occupied a specific niche within the Amiga's software library.

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Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Author: GN Team - Published: 8 July 2025, 2:16 pm

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is an adventure game created by Revolution Software and released in 1996 for PC and Macintosh. The game, known in the US as Circle of Blood, was directed by Charles Cecil and designed by Charles Cecil, Dave Cummins, and Jonathan Howard.

Following the cyberpunk dystopia of Beneath A Steel Sky, Revolution Software shifted gears dramatically with Circle of Blood, delivering a globe-trotting conspiracy thriller that feels like a Dan Brown novel years before The Da Vinci Code was released. The game opens with American tourist George Stobbart witnessing a café bombing in Paris, immediately establishing the international intrigue that will drive the entire experience. What begins as a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time evolves into an elaborate mystery involving the Knights Templar, ancient artifacts, and a secret society's modern machinations.

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