SHANNARA

BRONA the ancient Warlock King has returned!

Slain decades ago, Brona's evil spirit has come back to wreak revenge upon those who killed him. Now, on the combined magic of the races can destroy him. You are Jak Ohmsford. Only you can overcome the ancestral hatreds that divide the Four Lands, and only you can wield the magic that will defeat Brona. It is your destiny to save your homeland -- but the price of destiny is far higher than you could have ever imagined.

This multimedia adventure features more than 30 speaking actors and tells a new story with the characters and settings of the #1 best selling fantasy series in the world today.

~ from the back of the box

In 1977, Terry Brooks wrote the first novel in his Shannara series and cemented epic fantasy on his readers rarely seen since The Lord of the Rings. In 1995 Legend Entertainment developed the as yet only adaptation of his work; Shannara (note: an underwhelming MTV series aimed at teens has since aired)...

ROLLCAGE HD

Rollcage takes everything you know about racing and turns it upside down.

No rules, adrenaline-pumping, 360° racing action that lets you drive anywhere and everywhere. Hate flipping over when you crash? Drive upside down. Need a little speed deterrent for an opponent? Blow up the nearest building and watch it come crashing down on him. Too much traffic on the road? Pass up the competition while driving on the ceiling. Rollcage - break every law, including gravity.

• Gravity-defying 360° racing. Drive anywhere - on the sides of walls, tunnel ceilings, even through buildings.
• 20 cleverly designed tracks spread over 4 distinct racing environments from deserted moon-like terrain to gorgeous tropical islands.
• Choose from 6 fully armed and indestructible vehicles each with its own unique attributes in speed, grip, acceleration, power, and more.
• Options include time-based events, championship mode, bonus vehicles, bonus tracks, stunning graphics, an army or special effects, and arena-based deathmatch.
• One car wrecking crew. Blast away giant skyscrapers and scenery with 8 innovative weapons including time warps, guided missiles, speed bursts, and electronic bolts.
• Multi-player supports up to 4 players via split screen or up to 6 players via LAN/Internet.

~ from the back of the US PC box

If there was any particular game that made you want a PlayStation at launch, it was Psygnosis' WipEout. Previously, racing games were mostly cutesy kart racers or realistic simulations. In 1999, they did it again with its spiritual successor - the blisteringly fast Rollcage series.

QUIK THE THUNDER RABBIT

No time for fun, the carrot-locker is empty! The rabbit tribe of the Angels Meadow is in great danger, predators are ready to attack. Only one solution: find the Ultimate Seed. It's a magical seed that can produce as many carrots as anyone could ever want, for eternity. But the Ultimate Seed belongs to Quok, the good sorcerer, who lives thousands of miles away from the village. It's an emergency! Only one rabbit can get his seed back, the quickest rabbit of the Angels Meadow, QUIK, The Thunder Rabbit...

• Quik, the rabbit that foes faster than any hedgehog
• Extraordinary playability
• Dozens of brutal enemies
• Time levels which will drive you nuts
• Gigantic labyrinths where you'll find the awful Beastmaster, an unbelievably cruel monster who knows Rock 'n' Roll as well as martial arts!

~ from the back of the Amiga box

The early to mid-nineties; a special time when every platformer ever conceived wanted to be either Sonic the Hedgehog or Mario the plumber. Some were not particularly shy in hiding this fact and none more so than Titus Software's 1994 attempt - Quik The Thunder Rabbit...

POCKY & ROCKY COLLECTION

Pocky was enjoying a quiet cup of tea in her shrine, when Rocky the Raccoon, a Nopino goblin came running to Pocky. 

"Something terrible has happened. My fellow Nopino goblins have lost their minds. When I woke up, they were very agitated. When I tried to calm them down, they came after me."

"Why"?

"I don't know, but I believe they are under the spell of another force... In any case, I can not handle this by myself. I need your help."

Who on earth has cast the spell and are controlling the Nopino goblins? And what for? Find out as Pocky and Rocky battle the Goblins in this epic adventure from Natsume.

• Two player simultaneous action
• Outstanding graphics
• Endless continues
• Action/Adventure game suitable for the entire family.

~ from the back of the US Pocky & Rocky Super Nintendo box

We're going Japanese again for today's review. It's a long running series based on well-known legends; Kiki KaiKai or Pocky & Rocky as it's better known over here.

OH NO!

Brain Attack!

Hello, this is Suzuki Shiro.

Today I'd like to introduce you to the hilarious action game "OH NO!". The objective is to control a character called "Brada" and safely reach the goal while avoiding cars and samba dancers that get in the way. Even I was amazed at how fun it was. You might be wondering, "What am I doing?" but I'm in charge of the narration. That's why I recommend "OH NO!" to everyone. Until next week, all the best.

~ badly translated from the back of the Japanese PlayStation box

Oh No! is a Japanese on-rails 3D running game developed by Tycoon and published in 2000 for the PlayStation by a collaboration between Asmik Ace Entertainment and TBS. TBS stands for the Tokyo Broadcasting System, the Japanese television giant that brought Takashi's Castle to the world. Anyone who has seen that show knows how crazy it is, and that's nothing compared to what we'll find in Oh No!...

NOCTURNE

USA, 1933. An ungodly evil inhabits the shadows. Werewolves, vampires, ghouls and flesh-eating zombies lurk in every darkened corner and under every unlit stairwell, their bloodlust sated only when preying on the innocent.

As an agent of The Spookhouse, a secret government agency that investigates the forces of darkness and evil, you have one purpose. To seek out and destroy these creatures. And you hunt, as your vile quarry does, at night...

• Hunt and destroy over forty types of foul creature in a wide variety of environments ranging from eerie, mountain top castles to dank, subterranean temples.
• Explore the lairs of the damned through intelligent, cinematic cameras and first-person night-vision goggles.
• Brave four individual tales of horrific adventure, each with its own unique characterisation and plot.
• Experience horror as you have never imagined it by creeping through the most realistic shadows, rolling fog and dramatic lighting ever created. 

~ from the back of the box

Nocturne is a fun 3D horror game that takes a lot of inspiration from the Resident Evil games as well as the cultural phenomenon that was The X-Files, but can this original tale of demon hunting capture an audience like those franchises could?

MONTY PYTHON & THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

Burn the Witch! Battle the Black knight! Then outwit the bridgekeeper at the perilous Bridge of Death in this enchanting interactive medieval experience - the first to earn an enthusiastic thumbscrews up from Vladimere the Impaled!

 

And, as an extra top-secret bonus, this game includes an exciting never-before-produced scene from the script of the original Monty Python film.

Collect clues and solve puzzles as you join King Arthur and his band of knights on their quest for the Holy Grail.

Declared "best CD-ROM game of 932 A.D." praises abound from those who have witnessed its glory...

  "Great! Great! This game is simply great!" - Otto the Great

  "It's readlly goof." - Arnulf the Good

  "It's not bad." - Arnulf the Bad

  "The killer rabbit game caught me completely by surprise!" - Etheired the

    Unready

  "I play Drop Dead with all my friends! Then I kill them." - Olaf Tryggvason,

    a viking with very few friends

  "Spank the Virgin has got me hooked! I'll never want to self-flagellate

    again!" - St. Off of Cluny

Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, the comedy strategy-adventure game on CD-ROM that Charles the Simple is calling "Simply spectacular!" From the makers of the award-winning "Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time" CD-ROM game.

~ from the back of the box

Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail is a multi-media story book of sorts created by 7th Level in 1996. It is based off of the infamous Monty Python movie of (almost) the same name. If this movie doesn't top a list of Greatest Comedy Movies of All Time, it's because Life of Brian trumped it. Does the game live up to the lofty heights of the movie? Or John Cleese? Let's find out...

THE COLOUR OF MAGIC & OTHER STUFF

Terry Pratchett's words and worlds have inspired generations of film-makers, game designers and more. There is not enough time to delve into all that I want to talk about in depth in my week-long tribute to the great man, so here is a little primer into other things Discworld from the ZX Spectrum to our tabletops...

GOING POSTAL

In 2010, Sky1 broadcast their third and last Terry Pratchett adaptation; Going Postal. It may not have starred the familiar faces casual fans have grown to love from the series such as Rincewind or Death, but it is perhaps the most entertaining of the three.

DISCWORLD NOIR

INTO THE MEAN STREETS OF ANKH-MORPORK ONE MAN MUST GO …

The name’s Lewton. I’m a private investigator. I don’t know where the idea came from, I was just thinking one night that it would be really cool to have an office with my name on the door and a sturdy desk for sexy broads to lean across. Trouble is, wherever there are sexy broads there’s trouble, and the dame I’m working for wrote the book on trouble, and the sequel too. Her name’s Carlotta, and between her, the psychotic dwarf who’s following me and this walking mountain with the brain of a pomegranate who calls himself Malachite, I’m beginning to wonder if the Discworld’s first private investigator might be about to become the Discworld’s last private investigator too.

• Walk the mean streets of Ankh-Morpork in this latest addition to the hugely successful Discworld saga.
• You are in control the action in this new and original story, created under the guidance of Terry Pratchett.
• Talk to almost seventy different characters – including old favorites like Corporal Nobbs, Death and the Grim Squeaker – using a new and innovative conversation system that puts you in charge of the investigations.
• Visit over seventy different locations, all rendered in stunning 3D, as you attempt to solve murders, reveal conspiracies and attempt to uncover the truth – before it’s too late!

WHERE DEATH STANDS ON EVERY CORNER, ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS

~ from the back of the box

While the first two Discworld games had a colourful cartoony approach, the third game in the series went in a completely different direction. With it's dark, rain-drenched aesthetic, Discworld Noir would spell the death knell for Perfect 10 Entertainment, but they were adamant that they would go out with a bang...

THE COLOUR OF MAGIC

After the great success that was The Hogfather, Sky1 commissioned another Pratchett adaptation. Broadcast during the 2008 Easter holidays, it would this time be based on the very first novel (and its sequel) in the Discworld the universe; The Colour of Magic...

DISCWORLD 2: MISSING, PRESUMED...?

This is the second Discworld game.

What do you mean, 'I haven't finished the first one yet?'

Good grief, some people... look, give the prunes to the fishmonger, get the dragon to breathe on the mirror, throw the Blank Monk to the crocodiles and shoot the dragon with the other dragon.

Done that? Good. Now, if everyone's caught up...

Ahem.

This is the second Discworld* game. Death has gone missing. A hero is needed to bring him back. But there's only Rincewind, incompetent wizard and highly-trained coward. You won't catch Rincewind running away. He's too fast.

Unfortunately, he's all there is that stands between people and the horrible prospect of immortality. No one wants that, do they?

We've made DWII a little easier (snigger), with lots of new locations and even prettier graphics and sounds.

As Death himself says; HAVE FUN"

            - Terry Prachett

 * A magical world which goes through space on the back of a turtle, as everyone should know by now!

~ from the back of the box

If you've managed to figure out your fireworks and your custard pies, you may have successfully reached the end of the first Discworld game. Well, Rincewind's troubles are not over yet for there was a sequel; Discworld 2: Missing, Presumed...? (or Mortality Bytes to some of you)...

THE HOGFATHER

In the second of our week-long tribute to Terry Pratchett, we take a look at the first live-action adaptation of Pratchett's work. The Hogfather...

DISCWORLD

You'll find here wizards, dragons, heroes and household hygiene specialists. There is danger here, but there is also custard around the place. Because Discworld is a fantasy world with a low reality threshold. The real world keeps on breaking through - but Discworld changes it.

So you'll find here things that you sort of recognise.

Discworld has got photography (tiny imps paint the pictures) and movies (tiny imps paint really fast) and it is even getting its second generation of computers now that the old stone circles don't work fast enough.

However, because it is a fantasy world there are some things that it has to have, and one of them is a certain tendency to experience some trouble with dragons.

Unfortunately, a dragon is now ravaging Ankh-Morpork, the world's leading city. Many people would consider this falls under the heading of civic improvement, but what Ankh-Morpork needs now is a hero. All it's got, however, is Rincewind the wizard, whose only talent is that he is not in fact dead yet. He also has the Luggage, the nastiest piece of travelware in the Universe. With that at his side, there is probably no limit to the things he can fail to do...

Oh, did I say he? I meant... you.

Beware of anyone who TALKS LIKE THIS and carries a scythe, and remember that a loaded pun sometimes goes off...

 ... and have fun..

        - Terry Prachett

~ from the back of the box

Thursday saw the sad passing of one our greatest authors, Terry Pratchett. He is perhaps one of the most beloved and influential authors of his generation. To celebrate his life and work, I will dedicate a whole week to all things Pratchett, reviewing his adaptations in digital and celluloid. We begin a classic; the 1995 adventure game Discworld...

KID KLOWN'S CRAZY COLLECTION

 Catch Kid Klown in a klutzy new kaper!

"Hey Kid! Help me out! I've got to run for my life from evil space pirate Blackjack. He wants to conquer the planet with bombs, banana peels and booby traps. And I need all kinds of balloons and Klown Coins to escape! It's the spookiest, kookiest race can run. 

With new diagonal scrolling for pie-in-your-face action! Plus hidden zones, power-ups and bonus stages that make it a riot to play every time. So get off your keister! Let's go klown around!

• Blackjack's booby traps!
• Bizarre bad guys
• Avoid obstacles...
• ...or you'll get burnt!

 ~ from the back of Kid Klown in Crazy Chase US Super Nintendo box

After a morbid couple of releases, let's move on to something a bit more light-hearted for Mother's Day. And what could be more light-hearted than a clown! A child clown to be precise, who goes by the name of Kid Klown...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

http://www.dorkly.com/post/62647/a-videogame-mothers-day

JACK IN THE DARK

Jack in the Dark was a free Christmas-time promotion that you could download from BBSes; it was later included on the CD version of Alone in the Dark.

The player controls a little girl, who is up against Jack, the main bad guy from Alone in the Dark 2.

~ MobyGames description

The Alone in the Dark trilogy were landmark games, often cited as being the first in the Survival Horror genre that Resident Evil popularised a few years later. What you may not know is that a standalone demo was released prior to the first sequel. This demo is the bizarre foray into a demonic toy shop that it Jack in the Dark...

THE INNOCENTS

In 1961, director Jack Clayton ushered one of literature's finest ghost stories to the silver screen. It has often been eclipsed by the similar black and white spook-fest The Haunting released a few years later. Today, The Collection Chamber will release the greatest telling of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw - The Innocents...

HORROR ZOMBIES FROM THE CRYPT

The calm of Count Frederick Valdemar's remote mansion is shattered by the arrival of an army of the undead. Approaching though the gloom of the surrounding forests, lurking in the outhouses, penetrating to the very heart of the mansion come ghouls, spectres, werebeasts and vampires - but worse is in store. Now issuing forth from the vaults of the ancestral crypt itself come a horde of fearful Horror Zombies. It's a sight the Count will carry with him to the grave.

Only his strength and resourcefulness can save him, only speed and little luck will get him out of there, only you can help him in his ordeal. Horror Zombies will grab you and it won't let go! 

• 6 enormous levels, 600 screens of shuddering action
• packed with pitfalls, crumbling floors, false walls, hidden doors, rotating fireplaces, trapdoors, and more
• lots of secret rooms, passages, traps, pickups and bonuses
• hordes of beastly enemies, plus the Horror Zombies themselves
• Atmospheric graphics, creepy soundtrack, frighteningly good gameplay

~ from the back of the box

Horror Zombies form the Crypt was developed for the European market for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC in 1990. It's been heavily inspired by the 1950's B-grade horror movies that were popular in the 50s and 60s. Does it deserve to be released from the Collection Chamber? Let's take a look and find out.

GHOST IN THE SHELL

PLUG IN - LOCK ON

Experience the future with total 3-D shooting action!

Based on the top-selling Japanese feature film and comic, Ghost in the Shell immerses you in a cybernetic body and places you in control of a semi-intelligent robotic battletank known as a "Fuchikoma".

• Pilot your Fuchikoma through 12 huge 3-D search and destroy missions
• Use unique "go anywhere" capabilities to navigate floors, walls and ceilings
• Brief yourself with over 10 minutes of original, theater quality animation
• Prepare for duty with a separate training mode

~ from the back of US PlayStation box

In 1995, an animated movie from Japan was released to great critical acclaim. It has since inspired the Wachowski's Matrix Trilogy, spawned several sequels and television shows and is credited as being one of the movies to bring about an adult anime boom in the west. Two years later, it was adapted into a video game by Japanese developers Exact exclusively for the PlayStation. Unlike its cinematic counterpart, it eventually found itself amongst the forgotten residents of the Collection Chamber.

FABLE

Long ago in the mists of time lived the Mecubarz. Ancient & Beautiful, powerful and wise they ruled absolute. Strange beings, magical creatures and humans lived together in peace and harmony, until greed destroyed it all. Ismael, a respected man, and revered by all, sadly had a heart that was hollow and bitter. He and four others plotted to overthrow the Mecubarz.

The Mecubarz' fury at the treason of Ismael and his men was cataclysmic. They trapped the four seasons and put them into impenetrable crystals, casting them into the four corners of the shattered world where they stood still and were held in an eternal dominion of ice, mist, water, & fire. The four traitors were exiled, but Ismael disappeared.

As Quickthorpe, an inexperienced adventurer, your quest is to explore the Four Lands of the Mecubarz in search of the mystical gems that will liberate your people. Keen observation, puzzle-solving skill and quick thinking are the abilities required to undertake this exiting but unpredictable task. Interact with a universe of characters which come to life with true speech creating a world with an atmosphere so thick you can feel it. Combined stunning animations and atmospheric sound effects will ensure that Fable will take you on the Journey of a lifetime!

But beware... in the world of Fable not everything is as it seems.

• Stunning High Resolution Graphics
• Richly Animated Characters
• Actor Generated Speech
• Three Years in the Making
• A Quest to End All Quests

~ from the back of the box

When you think of Fable the game, you think of fantastic worlds, ghostly apparitions and a scrappy youth about to travel bravely on a magical quest. I do too. But the game I'm thinking of didn't spawn two divisive sequels, nor does it roam free with an HD remake. The game I'm thinking about has been held up in the Collection Chamber since 1996...

ECHO NIGHT

In 1913 the ship Orpheus mysteriously vanished, 45 souls were lost...

...or were they? Echo Night thrusts you into the middle of a supernatural adventure to past times and distant places. As Echo Night's spellbinding story unfolds, you'll visit past eras, meet unusual characters, and learn the secrets of the dead. Be warned, this adventure is not without peril. There are devious mini-games and puzzles to survive before you discover  what really happened to the Orpheus, its passengers, and the ancient talisman stones. Echo Night is one adventure you won't soon forget.

• A first-person adventure
• Explore over 10 eerie locations
• Interact with over 40 characters
• Travel through time
• 3 unique endings

~ from the back of Echo Night US PlayStation box

Echo Night is a horror adventure game released in 1999 for the original PlayStation. Considering the vast popularity of Sony's first console, you wouldn't have thought many of its titles are held in the Collection Chamber. This couldn't be farther from the truth...

DISNEY'S ANIMATED STORYBOOK: HERCULES

A Mythic Rading Adventure That Takes You From Zero to Hero.

Get ready to join Hercules for one wisecracking, fun-filled surprise after another as you strengthen your reading, vocabulary and problem solving skills. Go to all you favorite places in the story and interact with your favorite characters. Take part in five exciting activities, three sing-alongs, even get an introduction to Greek mythology! When you're off on a reading adventure with Hercules, you're destined for hours of fun!

Learning and Fun in Mega-Proportions

• Improve early reading skills.
• Gain an introduction to Greek mythology.
• Build vocabulary.
• Improve problem-solving skills with multi-level learning.
• Sing along with your favorite songs from the movie.

~ from the back of the box

So far, our more twisted inmates have been chosen to be freed from the Collection Chamber, but today , with the third game ever to leave it's confines, I'd like to introduce you to a more innocuous detainee; Disney's Hercules: The Animated Storybook...

THE CONGRESS

While the majority of those contained with the Collection Chamber hail from the days of yesteryear, The Congress, a 2013 movie that premiered in England during August of last to great critical acclaim, has only seen a home DVD release this past December. It is an animation/live-action hybrid by the same team that gave us the awesome animated documentary Waltz with Bashir, proving that director Ari Folman has lost none of his inventive vigour after the transition to the English language.

BUREAU 13

Take command of BUREAU 13 - a highly classified government agency whose mission is to identify, track and exterminate all forms of paranormal and supernatural phenomena. Choose your team of up to two of six available BUREAU 13 agents, each with their own unique skill and special powers.

Isaac Richards, THE HACKER - an expert in computers, biophysics and weapons.

Delilah Littlepanther, THE MECH - equipped with an outrageous experimental mechanized battle suit.

Father Jonathan Blank, THE PRIEST - a master of religion, magic and the occult, he has already performed twenty-six successful exorcises!

Jimmy Suttle, THE THIEF - pick him and your team will have no problem picking locks and pockets.

Alexander Keltin, THE VAMPIRE - the Bureau supplies him with blood, a small price to pay for his superhuman strength, immunity to conventional weapons and ability to morph into mist.

Selma Gray, THE WITCH - a powerful sorceress ready to take you for a spell!

Join BUREAU 13 and embark on a role-playing adventure full of mystery, deception and dazzling action!

Superb replayability; puzzle solutions vary depending upon the characters on your team.

Original soundtrack musical score and lyrics; game disk doubles as an audio CD.

Thrilling combat sequences with variable scenarios.

Complex puzzles require clever thinking and imagination.

Based on the successful pen & paper role playing game by Richard Tucholka.

~ from the back of the box

Bureau 13 is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Take-Two Interactive and released to the European PC market by GameTek in 1995. At the time, it received mixed reviews, praising its then state-of-the-art graphics and its few unique mechanics, while bemoaning the dull script and dubious voice acting.

ABUSE

All hell has broken loose, and you're up to your ass in it!

Military scientists have been conducting diabolical genetic experiments that have created bloodthirsty, mutated monsters. You are the only hope to prevent the mutagen from leaking out - if you can get through the grotesque monsters, solve the deadly puzzles and avoid all incoming fire.

• Kick-Ass Arsenal
  Energy Rifle, Napalm Bombs and the Death Sabre: just a few ways to lay waste! 
• No more 200 page manuals
  Easy to install, easy to learn, tough to survive!
• Level Editor Contest
  Revel in your own destruction and make money doing it!
• Secret Rooms
  Destroy floors, walls and ceilings in search of the ultimate power-up!
• "Point and Kill" Interface
  Move and annihilate mutants in complete 360° freedom!
• Unique Aerial Gear
  Jet boots = death from above!
• 8 Person Multiplayer
  Your friends' life expectancy: 45 seconds!

~ from the back of the box

Abuse is a run-and-gun shooter, developed by Crack Dot Com and released in early 1996 by Origin Systems in Europe. Heavily inspires by the Predator and Alien franchises, this PC exclusive was hailed at the time for its unique and intuitive control method, but suffered poor sales leading to its incarceration.

WELCOME

Hello guests, and welcome to the Collection Chamber.

Every day, depending on good behaviour, I will release a game or movie from the vault, posting a review of their freshly reformed status. I will document the theories behind their incarceration, as well as post links on where you can obtain their newly pardoned code. While they will mostly be in the form of a download link, some lucky ex-inmates will have fully reformed, being re-released online through Steam, Amazon or GOG.com.

I don't believe classic games and cinema should be locked up in the vault forever, so I have opened the gates, introducing these entertaining inmates to modern platforms though a customised installation.

I hope you will enjoy their newly found freedom in the modern world, and their relief from obsolescence and obscurity. Please let me know your thoughts about other prisoners that have gotten very few visitation rights and I will see what I can do as we dig deep into the Collection Chamber.

The Biffman