Latest Game Reviews

Nebulus

Author: GN Team - Published: 15 September 2017, 1:24 am

Nebulus (known as Tower Toppler in the US) is an action platformer developed and designed by John M Phillips. Initially it was created for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. Later it was ported to Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Acorn 32-bit. There are also versions for the NES and Gameboy.

Cute graphics, brilliant gameplay and a revolutionary animation made a success. The main character sprite (a frog) is always in the center of the screen, while the environment (a tower) moves around it, giving the impression of a 3D rotation. The C64 version got a Gold Medal award from Zzap!64 magazine while the Amiga version was voted 14th best game of all time by Amiga Power. Nebulus also won the title of Best Original Game Of The Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. It's simply a game you have to try.

Brat

Author: Tasha - Published: 11 September 2017, 2:22 am

Brat is an action puzzle game developed by Foursfield and published by Image Works in 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST. The game features isometric graphics and a simple point-and-click interface.

In this Lemmings inspired puzzle game, you play as the guiding hand to baby Nathan. You do not control him directly, rather you must place directional arrows and other icons to lead him around the levels, avoiding obstacles and picking up items. These items can then help Nathan bypass other obstacles in the levels. Nathan will walk automatically and will not stop unless stopped or diverted by you. Your goal is to keep him from falling off the map and make it to the end. To further complicate things, the screen scrolls, and if it catches up to Nathan, he’s toast. Though made with cutesy graphics, it’s far from a simple puzzler.

The Oregon Trail

Author: Henry Blake - Published: 10 September 2017, 1:52 pm

The Oregon Trail was developed way back in 1971 on university mainframes then jumped over to early 8-bit home computer systems. Continuing through 4 decades it has reappeared in many editions (at least 10), was a colossal commercial success in its heyday, and remains popular today.

Beyond teaching history, The Oregon Trail is essentially a game of strategic and tactical decisions. You make choices at the start about your pioneer's profession (banker, doctor, farmer, carpenter, etc.); what provisions, and in what amounts, you will buy; and what month to begin the journey. All these choices have the potential to noticeably impact the success or failure of your venture.

Rainbow Islands

Author: Tasha - Published: 4 September 2017, 1:17 am

Rainbow Islands is the sequel to Bubble Bobble and was developed and published by Taito in 1987 for arcades only. It would remain a coin-op until 1990 when it was ported to the Amiga, Commodore 64, and other home platforms. It would be converted multiple times in the subsequent years.

The gameplay is different, but in terms of graphics, the game looks remarkably similar to Mario.

This time, Bub and Bob have shed their reptilian skin and are now human again. After successfully rescuing their love interests in the first game, the brothers now set out to rid the Rainbow Islands of evil. Along with their new forms, the boys now use rainbows instead of bubbles. The rainbow has 3 purposes: first, to kill enemies; second, to contain them; and third, they can be used as a platform. You must reach the island's top at each level before the sea level reaches you. Power-ups can be gathered around the levels to increase your speed or the number of rainbows. Like its predecessor, Rainbow Islands features multiple endings depending on whether or not you unlock the secret islands.

Gods

Author: Tasha - Published: 25 August 2017, 1:10 am

Gods is a fantasy platform game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade Software in 1991 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS.

The Gods have made an open call to any hero who can defeat the four guardians and retake their city. You are the hero who answers that call, with a lust for immortality driving you. You embark on your quest to slay enemies and create your legend. The main character uses thrown weapons (fireballs, daggers, axes, etc.) to defeat enemies. If you've got the gold, weapons can be found in-game or purchased from a peddler. An exciting gameplay element of Gods is that the enemy AI adjusts to your play style: enemies can figure out how to avoid your attacks, making you have to switch it up as you go. The game also helps you out a little if you suck by making powerups and bonuses more frequent. Even if you're good, you can still locate bonus rooms to get a little boost. Aside from enemy slaying, you will also engage in puzzle-solving and exploration.

Fears

Author: GN Team - Published: 22 August 2017, 2:07 am

Fears is a 3d first-person shooter developed by Bomb Software exclusively for Amiga models with AGA chipset. Published by Manyk/Guildhall Leisure, it was released in 1995.

Fears is one of the few Doom clones released for Amiga, together with Gloom, Alien Breed 3D, and Breathless. Due to technical limitations, 3D FPS was not exactly the ideal genre for the Commodore machine; that's why there are only a few titles like this. The team behind Fears, composed of some brilliant demo-makers, was brave enough to go for a full-screen game, rather than restricting the playfield to a small section. Despite this, the performance of the game is excellent. The addition of stairs and lifts increases the perception of a 3D environment.