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 you're 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.
Click on the images below to head on over to the game page.
 |
 |
1998 Psyche
Amiga
Adventure-Point & Click-Science Fiction-Aliens!
 |
 |
1999 New Generation Software
Windows
Role Play-Adventure-Fantasy
 |
 |
1995 Delphine Software International
DOS
Action Adventure-Science Fiction
 |
 |
1997 Fox Interactive
Windows
Edutainment-Movies-Historic
 |
 |
1995 NMS Software & Virgin Interactive
DOS
Arcade-Pinball
Like this? Try These...
When i click on Fade To Black's image that would lead me to it's blog post it leads to a generic " Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist. " error.
ReplyDeleteGive me a sec. I've been away so I didn't get to finish everything before I left.
DeleteLooks like I kept it on draft by mistake. The review will come later, but the download package is there to enjoy.
DeleteThank you once again Biffman!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteGreat stuff! I've long been interested in playing Fade to Black, given how much I enjoyed Flashback and Abduction looks pretty cool too. Oh, and I'm always interested in reading up about The Titanic and other such disasters. Thank you, Biffman.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Fade to Black is a difficult game with convoluted controls. I never could get very far as a kid, even though I really wanted to. Alas, not much has changed now but I did want to get further before writing the review.
DeleteAlso Abduction was a great surprise. I'd say it's my pick of the month.
DeleteMagic. Many thanks for the new games, updates and a fantastic site. You're doing a wonderful job. Biffman for Prime Minister !!
ReplyDeleteVote me in and get free nostalgia for everyone!
DeleteI'm sorry if this posts twice, I don't think my original request posted. I just wanna throw a request out for Mr. Potato Head Saves Veggie Valley. Great site, thanks for all you do.
ReplyDeleteWow great releases as usual Biffman! I'm in the same position as you and others here regarding Fade To Black, tried it as a kid but could never get very far. It's been on my 'to play' list forever since, quite happy about you releasing it!
ReplyDeleteAs a huge fan of isometric games growing up (and to this day) I'm surprised I never heard of Dark secrets of Africa; interesting in checking it out, kinks and all. Thanks for the new discoveries!
You're welcome!
DeleteBiffman 101 :D Thank You for new top nostalgia games. ABDUCTION ROCKS !!! More Amiga needed.
ReplyDeleteCheers Greg
It does! I went down a minor rabbit hole of Amiga-exclusive point-and-click adventures so you can expect some in the coming months (though not this one). There's some real obscure titles there.
DeleteThis is very good news.
DeleteThank You Biffman :)
Greg
Your blog keep my depression at bay, already finished four games you posted! Do you think its possible to give the same treatment to Heavy gear series? Thanks for the amazing work!
ReplyDeleteWow Heavy Gear! Great series I agree. I know Biffman's todo/wish list is huge, but would absolutely love the see some more of the oh-so-rare mech games here. Like :
Delete- Heavy Gears 1&2 (as mentioned)
- G-Nome (so rare!) and why not its RTS brother Dominion Storm Over Gift 3
- And of course the older mechwarrior games and expansions (2 through 4)
These games are hellish to run on modern systems. Maybe one day! :)
The mech games are all on my radar (though I admit I hadn't heard of Dominion Storm). I've made some leeway with G-Nome and Mechnwarrior but only a small amount. March's selection is set but perhaps I'll focus on one of them for April. I had MechWarrior 2 on PC and remember playing the demo of G-Nome so they are a little nostalgic, even if I'm not very good at them.
Delete"March's selection is set but perhaps I'll focus on one of them for April."
DeleteNice - mech games :D
Greg
Thanks biffman!
DeleteFebruary lineup of the monthly five games had a alot of variety, is March's monthly five going to be similar or will it be focused on a specific genre/theme?
DeleteVery nice Biffman thank you! Would definitely be great to have one of those mech games in April, if not later is good too :). I've recently tried to re-install the Mechwarrior games, but with tons of glitches and not very successfully. G-Nome I haven't even gotten close to getting working.
DeleteIf you're curious about Dominion (Storm over Gift 3 is the subtitle) there's an interesting story behind that game. It takes place in the same game universe as G-Nome with the same races, settings, etc. It was actually legendary studio's Ion Storm first published game but it's fallen in the dust bins of history.
You can read more on its history and publishing failure here on Wikipedia (if links are permitted):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion:_Storm_Over_Gift_3
Thanks again!
I only remove posts that contain spam links or links to warez sites (ie. downloads for games that are still sold). That alone is a job and a half but a Wiki page is fine.
DeleteI'll have a look into Dominion when I have the time, but if G-Nome came out first, I should probably focus on that one before it. You can probably guess that March's theme was DreamWorks movies as a thinly veiled attempt to talk about movies and the Oscars in general (I had to remove some paragraphs and save it for my next year's annual rundown just to stay on track - it's rare that my fave film of the year gets nominated for Best Film let alone wins...).
April was going to be about D&D 'cos of the D&D movie and the fact that my three-year campaign I've been running has just ended but having two themed months in a row could be a bit much. There'll definitely be at least 1 of them among the five though.
when psychic detective installer and dark side of the moon :P
ReplyDeleteDark Side of the Moon has been the bane of my existence. Every time I think I've cracked it, another major issue crops up. As with every requested game, I can't say when but both are on my radar.
Delete