Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
Author: Adam - Published: 11 February 2023, 3:47 pm
SimCity, one of the most popular videogames of all time, is an open-ended city-building game designed by Will Wright and developed by Maxis.
Wright started to create the game in 1985 on a Commodore 64 but never completed it. When the Apple Macintosh and the Amiga computer became available, Wright started to work on a version for the 16-bit computers and finally completed it.
The first version was released in 1989 for the Macintosh and soon after for the Amiga. Later it was also ported to Commodore 64 and IBM PC. Over the years, it was converted and released for all available platforms.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 5 February 2023, 7:05 pm
Legends of Valour is a 3D RPG created by Synthetic Dimensions and released in 1992 for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST.
The game's main feature is the engine, which is entirely 3D. This technology was not new but wasn't used in RPGs yet. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, released the same year, is commonly credited as the first 3G RPG, but Legends of Valour was developed simultaneously. Most of the other RPGS were using a pseudo-3G view like Eye of the Beholder or an isometric view like Ultima VII (another game released in 1992).
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Author: GN Team - Published: 4 February 2023, 1:34 am
Ghost Battle is an action-adventure/arcade platformer created by Interactive Design and published by Thalion originally for the Amiga in 1991.
Inspired by successes like Shadow of the Beast or the popular coin-op Ghosts 'N Goblins, Ghost Battle is a good mix between action adventure and hack-and-slash platforming, with a bit of horror.
In terms of game design, the difficulty level is a bit too high, with enemies that require many hits before they are eliminated and movements that require a lot of precision. But if you have the patience to try it, you will discover the graphics designed by Henk Nieborg, master of pixel art and author of Flink, The Adventures of Lomax, and the masterpiece Lionheart. Clearly Ghost Battle is not at the same level as Lionheart, but you can see the artist's quality, especially in the backgrounds. The music composed by Atari-ST demoscene legend Jochen Hippel is another reason to try this game.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 1 February 2023, 2:01 am
Shadoworlds is an RPG created by Krisalis/Teque and released in 1992 as a sequel to Shadowlands. It was published by Domark.
While the predecessor was a classic fantasy RPG with some Japanese influence, Shadoworlds is set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world.
If the settings are changed, the game engine, characterized by a technology called Photoscaping that allows dynamic lights and shadows, is still the same. So it should not be surprising that the gameplay still requires the players to find torches to see the environment. Having played and completed the game, I can say I enjoyed these mechanics a lot.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 27 January 2023, 12:20 am
Galdregon's Domain is a fantasy RPG created originally for the Amiga by Pandora Software and released in 1989 for Atari ST, DOS, and Commodore 64. Two years later, Spotlight/Cinemare released it in the US with the title Death Bringer.
The game, designed by Ray Edwards, belongs to the first-person dungeon crawler genre. But unlike The Bard's Tale or Eye of the Beholder, all the upper part of the screen is dedicated to world view. A choice that reminds me of Ishar: Legend of the Fortress and that is more immersive.
Death Bringer is a good RPG despite not being the most famous or original dungeon crawler for the Amiga. It benefits from good gameplay and an excellent user interface.
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Author: GN Team - Published: 25 January 2023, 3:12 pm
Super Star Trek 1978 meets 25th Anniversary is a fangame/remake of the famous text-only strategy game Super Star Trek. Unlike many other remakes of this strategy game, this one features fantastic graphics taken from the popular adventure Star Trek: 25th Anniversary.
Super Star Trek is an early example of a turn-based sci-fi strategy wargame, entirely played by issuing text commands. The game became famous when the code was published in the 1978 book BASIC COMPUTER GAMES. Many versions exist, but in this case, the inspiration was the original 1978 code. You control the starship Enterprise and have to destroy the invading Klingon fleet before it's too late. You will have to manage the energy carefully and split it between phasers, engines, and shields; remember to use the limited torpedoes properly (you only have 10); when the ship is too damaged, or the energy is almost depleted, you must find a starbase in one of the sectors of the quadrant.
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