Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
Author: GN Team - Published: 31 March 2018, 5:41 pm
Maniac Mansion is a memorable point-and-click graphic adventure game created by LucasArts, initially released for the Commodore 64. Written by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, it's the first adventure to use the SCUMM game engine, conceived by Gilbert as a tool for creating this type of game (the "MM" in SCUMM stands for "Maniac Mansion").
The game's success led to ports on several platforms, including Apple II (1987), DOS, NES (1988), Amiga, and Atari ST (1989). Maniac Mansion revolutionized the adventure game genre, thanks to its humor, non-linear story, and more straightforward gameplay: while traditional adventures relied on command parsing, Gilbert's adventure used predefined verbs and objects encountered during exploration.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 31 March 2018, 2:21 am
Impossible Mission 2025 is the third game of the Impossible Mission trilogy created originally by Epyx. This final title was developed and published by MicroProse in 1994 for Amiga and Amiga CD32.
The game stays true to the puzzle element of the original but improves upon many aspects of it. If you played Impossible Mission I or Impossible Mission II, you’re probably familiar with the setup. For those unacquainted with the series, you play as a secret agent tasked with taking down a robot-making evil genius, Atombender. Choose between 3 different characters: Felix, Tasha (yay!), and a robot named Ram. I’m going to go ahead and say how happy I am that my name’s in the game. Anyway, a significant change from the original is the new larger levels. Playing as a platformer, you explore, avoid robots, solve puzzles, and collect pieces to create the key you need to reach the unstable Atombender.
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Author: Tasha - Published: 23 March 2018, 6:49 pm
007: James Bond - The Stealth Affair (aka Operation Stealth) is a spy-themed adventure game developed by Delphine Software and published by U.S. Gold in 1990 for Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS. The game’s design is largely credited to famous French game designer, Paul Cuisset.
Stepping into the shoes of smart, sexy super spy, James Bond, your mission is to recover a stolen stealth aircraft. In this particular Bond story, he works for the CIA rather than his usual spy organization. This is largely due to the fact that the European version featured John Glames in the starring role and not the James Bond we know and love. Using a point-and-click interface similar to the one seen in Future Wars: Time Travellers, you need to examine Bond’s environment and interact with it using the popup menu featuring six command words: Examine, Take, Inventory, Use, Operate, and Speak. It is also possible to enter the inventory to inspect or combine items. As the famous Mr. Bond, you will, of course, have the use of his special spies-only gadgets to help him finesse his way through the mission. Stealth Affair has more than just the usual puzzle solving, Bond will also have arcade type scenes where he has to swim without drowning or evade henchmen in a maze.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 22 March 2018, 9:19 pm
The Black Onyx is a Japanese RPG developed by Bullet-Proof Software, originally released in 1984 for the NEC-PC 8801. It was the first role-playing game developed in Japan, inspired by big Western RPG hits such as Wizardry and Ultima.
In the game, you can create a party of up to five members and explore dungeons in a pseudo-3D view, killing monsters with turn-based mechanics.
The game was designed and programmed by Henk Rogers, a Dutchman who moved to Japan, with no prior experience in video game development but a passion for Dungeons & Dragons.
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Author: Tasha - Published: 15 March 2018, 1:41 am
Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager is a fantasy RPG and sequel to Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, developed and published by Strategic Simulations. It was released in 1994 for DOS only. It’s an officially licensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game.
Picking up the storyline from the end of Shattered Lands, Wake of the Ravager follows the four gladiators who liberated themselves and defeated the army of Draj. The group finds themselves in the city of Tyr, which was recently freed from the reign of their evil king. However, now the city is vulnerable to the conquest of the Dragon. The ex-gladiators now find themselves embroiled in a fight to save the world from an even larger evil. Starting out you can either use a randomly generated team, create your own, or import from Shattered Lands. There are multiple races and classes to choose from, as well as important stats for each. The game borrows the engine and gameplay from the original while improving the graphics. Wake of the Ravager also utilizes details unique to the Dark Sun D&D setting, such as the certain races and magical abilities. The game uses a 3rd person bird’s-eye view to move your characters around and explore environments. Combat is turn-based and does not require the loading of a separate screen, it simply takes place wherever enemies are encountered. Wake of the Ravager has a much more linear storyline to follow. While you can roam somewhat freely, certain areas do not become accessible until you have completed certain tasks. There are also several side quests available if you don’t feel like following the story all the time.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 9 March 2018, 5:33 pm
Gradius is a horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up developed and published by Konami, initially released in 1985 as an arcade game. 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 of day.
Gradius was famous for its peculiar power-up system: instead of different collectible power-ups with various effects, you could 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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