MONTHLY 5- February 2023

The shortest month of the year is to an end, but I did manage to squeeze in some time for the Collection Chamber. First up is an obscure Amiga adventure that arrived late in the computer's lifecycle. Abduction (1998 Psyche) is a fascinating hidden gem in the pantheon of point-and-clicks that uses a top-down perspective that oozes in sci-fi atmosphere. Then, Dark Secrets of Africa (1999 New Generation Software) is a Windows RPG aiming to take an isometric bite of that Baldur's Gate pie. The sequel to Flashback is up next as the early 3D action adventure puzzles around traps and shoots at robots in a game called Fade to Black (1995 Delphine Software International). To celebrate the recent 25th aniversary of the best romantic movie boyfriends can also enjoy and its brief return to theatres, I've added the educational CD-ROM James Cameron's Titanic Explorer (1997 Fox Interactive) to the roster. To cap it all off, why not end with the pinball thrills of Tilt! (1995 NMS Software & Virgin Interactive) known as Hyper 3-D Pinball in the US.

On the update front, we have three revisions of some of last month's games, and the one I promised I'd fix then too. I wasn't entirely happy with Asghan: The Dragon Slayer's package, so I did a repack to take advantage of DDrawCompat as opposed to dgVoodoo. Dr. Slump got some tweaking of the controls so that the Turbo function no longer messes up button holds (a small patch is included if you don't fancy re-downloading the whole thing). Then there's Overboard! or Shipwreckers! if your that way inclined. As with Dr. Slump there is a small patch for those who've downloaded Version 1, but Version 2 replaces the dgVoodoo config file with one that limits the framerate. This prevents some bugs that may occur when your boat needs to bounce. And finally, as promised, I've fixed the Gravis Ultrasound crash from last month's update for Shannara. The original DOS4GW.EXE has been replaced with a newer DOS/32 Advanced DOS Extender which solves the issue. Not only that, but I've also tweaked the DOSBox-X mapper file and config a little to standardise hotkeys and restore the original aspect ratio when running in fullscreen.

That's a lot to keep you busy, so until the month of March comes to its end, check out this lot by clicking on the links after the jump.

MONTHLY 5 - January 2023

It's 2023 and a full month has gone by. Other than collecting my musings of the movies and modern games I've encountered over the last year, it's time to get back to the old stuff. We have five interesting obscurities to kick off the year, starting with the fantasy Tomb Raider clone Asghan: The Dragon Slayer (1998 Silmarils). Next up is a recently translated PlayStation platformer featuring the first creation of Dragon Ball's Akira Toriyama called Dr. Slump (1998 Bandai). Then we have the racing sequel Monster Truck Madness 2 (1998 Microsoft Corporation & Terminal Reality) complete with dozens of fanmade tracks and trucks. Travel the high seas and shoot your way to treasure in Overboard! (1997 Psygnosis) otherwise known as Shipwreckers! in the US. Lastly, guest reviewer Austin takes on a crazy ride with the action-arcade-strategy hybrid that is Space Dude (1996 Evryware).

That's not all. A minor improvement to the site sees the list of all of the Labels in full view at the very bottom. It was something I didn't even think about until a random comment popped up, so hopefully it'll prove useful when browsing the hundreds of game reviews (we're edging towards 600!).

Talking about the games, we have a few updates. Shannara now uses DOSBox-X (but may have an issue so the last version remains - expect the fantasy adventure to appear here again next month), Nocturne now has some tweaks for better compatibility while also adding an editor and soundtrack too! Lastly, MetalTech EarthSiege fixes the crash at the end of Campaign 4, Mission 8 while also getting upgraded to DOSBox Daum as its emulator of choice. You can see their full details of their game pages or on the Game Updates page found to your right.

For the others, go check them out by clicking after the jump...

TOP 10 GAMES OF 2022

It's game time! While most of my time is spent playing old-school games from the 90s, I do play a fair amount of new-school ones. My Steam account is rife with many cool titles and my GOG library isn't just made up of good old games. Read on after the jump to discover my favourites over the last year.

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2022

 

 

I must admit, my cinema-going experiences have been getting fewer and fewer. I have seen only a handful on the silver screen this year, and all of them have been the kind of crowd-pleasing pictures I can convince my friends to see. Despite this, I believe it was an excellent year for the medium, with a few off-kilter experiments branching off into the mainstream and some streaming services supporting all kinds of genres to success too. My go to tactic is to randomly buy a month when they have enough I'm interested in and binge, baby, binge. These are my brief thoughts on a large number (though not all) of the movies I saw that were released in the UK during 2022, highlighting my highly subjective Top 10. Read on after the jump for more...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - THE FESTIVE FINALE

It's finally Christmas Day, and with that comes the final entry in the Christmas Countdown. And it wouldn't be Christmas without some Lemmings, would it? Lemmings Paintball (1996 Psygnosis) is one of those spin off games that completely changes the formula, yet somehow still manages to feel like a natural progression of its predecessors. There are no Xmas-themed add-ons this time round, by many levels have that unmistakable snow-covered landscape of a winter wonderland.

Whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope you have a good one. I'll be back in the new year with my annual rundown of the modern stuff I've been playing and watching this past year so keep an eye out for that.

Until then... Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 11

It's Christmas Eve! Let's get a little medieval with the classic high-fantasy adventure Heretic II (1998 Raven Software Corporation & id Software). For annoying legal reason, it's not available to buy anywhere being the only game in the Heretic/Hexen series to be stranded like this. Well, stranded no more for arguably the best of the lot is here, just in time for the big day. Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 10

On this eve of Christmas Eve, I posit to you a question to ponder over... Could a trout run for public office?

While that thought is percolating around your brain, take a gander at Mind-Gym (1997 Melrose Interactive & NOHO Digital) where such thoughtful quandries and more will expand one's understanding of one's self. Or you could just discover how a cucumber can save the world, it's all good in this comedic send up of self-help books. Or is it?

Stop scratching your brain and click on the links after the jump to find out!