Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
Author: GN Team - Published: 9 March 2018, 5:33 pm
Gradius is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up developed and published by Konami, initially in 1985 as an arcade. The game was ported to MSX and NES in 1986 and released outside Japan with the name "Nemesis." One year later, the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and other versions saw the light.
Gradius was famous for his peculiar power-up system: instead of different collectible power-ups with various effects, you can collect only one object. Once you get it, the weapon bar moves to the next position, highlighting a new choice. This way, the player can decide the improvement he wants to activate: speed, missile, double, laser, option, and shield.
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Author: Tasha - Published: 7 March 2018, 8:54 pm
Impossible Mission II is the sequel to the first Impossible Mission game. It was developed by Novatrade Software and published by Epyx in 1988 for the Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64, and others. It was also ported to NES in 1989.
Picking up just after the conclusion of the original Impossible Mission, the previously foiled baddie Elvin Atombender is back for revenge. The game takes place inside the lair of Mr. Atombender as you try to make your way through his multitude of towers to stop his evil plan. You do, however, have a time limit of just 8 hours in which to do this. Utilizing a similar playstyle as the first one, it plays like a side-scrolling platformer but does not recycle any code from the original. Built from scratch, IMII adds new robotic enemies and new bombs and mines to help you forge a path to Atombender. Along the way, you have to collect a set of musical keys that go together to unlock the elevator to reach your target. But be careful, some of the pieces are duplicates, and you have to make sure you record over them with a non-duplicate key.
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Author: Tasha - Published: 28 February 2018, 1:16 pm
Space Rogue is a 3D space flight RPG developed and published by Origin Systems in 1989 for the Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, and Mac. It was ported in 1990 to the Amiga, PC-98, and a few others. This title paved the way for Origins Systems’ later Wing Commander series. The game was designed by Paul Neurath (author of the Ultima Underworld series).
As a crew member onboard a merchant's vessel, your ship follows a distress signal to what appears to be an abandoned ship. You are sent off to explore the craft alone. While there you see dangerous raiders destroy your merchant ship, leaving you stranded. You now have to find a way to survive and exact vengeance. From this point on your destiny is yours. You can become a pirate, a political cohort, a bounty hunter, or just revert to your original job as a merchant trader. Space Rogue mixes different play styles in that it is a part flight simulator and part RPG. There are two types of space flight. The first is viewed from the inside of the ship out of the cockpit viewport and the second is a birds-eye perspective from the outside of the vessel. You can fly about aimlessly using the cockpit view if you wish. However, it is probably best to use the “Chart” to plot a course. It is also possible to dock your ship and walk your character around different outposts, speaking to people, gaining information, purchasing cargo, or ship parts. You can also engage in a little sticky-fingered thievery if you like. Combat also comes into play during your space exploration. Defend your ship, save other ships, or just take them out and plunder their hold.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 24 February 2018, 9:23 pm
Space Empires is a series of galactic conquest and turn-based strategy games created by Malfador Machinations in the 90s. The first two titles, included in this package, were developed for Windows3.x.
Space Empires I, released in 1993, was a real "indie" competitor of the more famous Master of Orion. Instead of being released for MS-DOS, the game was developed for Windows3.x, using the native UI elements, like the RPG Castle of the Winds. Space Empires II, still for Windows 3.1, was released in 1995, introduced many improvements.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 21 February 2018, 2:23 pm
Times of Lore is an action RPG created by Chris Roberts - author of Wing Commander - and published by Origin Systems. It was released for Commodore 64, Apple II, and DOS. Later, it was ported to Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, and NES.
The game, inspired by The Legend of Zelda, is considered one of the most influential computer role-playing games ever created. It has influenced Richard Garriott's Ultima VI: The False Prophet and Ultima VII: The Black Gate, but also Diablo and many others.
Times of Lore is also a masterpiece of programming on the Commodore 64; it features a massive world made of 13 thousand screens, shown without any need for loading, plus it uses a very advanced technique to display highly detailed sprites (combining a hi-res monochrome sprite plus a low-res multicolor sprite).
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Author: Tasha - Published: 16 February 2018, 11:08 pm
Breathless is a first person science fiction shooter developed by Fields of Vision and published by Power Computing in 1995 for the Amiga only. The game has a rather Doom-like appearance and is considered the fourth serious attempt at a Doom clone for the Commodore 16 bit platform, after Fears, Gloom and Alien Breed 3D.
Set in a desolate future where aliens have enslaved humanity, you play as one of the last remaining humans willing to fight back. After being caught you are given unwanted surgery to become a cyborg. Playing as this midriff baring cyborg, you have to make your way through alien conceived areas to test your abilities. Battle your way across 4 worlds, with 5 levels a piece, in order to possibly attain your freedom. Armed with a gun you have to shoot your way through enemies, gather key cards to open doors, and make your way to the end. As you play there are opportunities to collect credits that you can use at computer terminals to upgrade your weapons. All the weapons function off of one-size-fits-all ammunition dubbed ‘energy’. The game also has a handy auto-mapping feature to save on schlepping around trying to remember where you need to go.
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