MONTHLY 5 - June 2025

It's that time again! Time for some new-old games to be rediscovered. Following on from last month is the Amiga exclusive dungeon-crawling sequel Abandoned Places 2 (1993 Francis Staengler & Steve Fabian & ICE Ltd). If you're an action gamer, try out the high-octane chopper sim Extreme Assault (1997 Blue Byte Software) or the interesting arcade shooter Jump Raven (1994 CyberFlix, Inc). For a more thoughtful time, the extremely underrated sci-fi cinematic platformer onEscapee (1997-2004 Invictus Team) is now playable in both Amiga and Windows form while the fantastical first-person adventure Zelenhgorm: Episode 1 - Land of the Blue Moon (2002 Moloto Productions AB) scratches that point-and-click itch with some impressive FMV to boot. It just wins out as my pick of the month, but many of the others come close. What better way to spend your time during a heat wave. Head on over after the jump to check them out for yourself.

Beyond these new additions, I've also updated a bunch of other games. The PlayStation classic Echo Night has been overhauled through an updated emulator with re-mapped modernised controls and the option to play with super cool widescreen and graphical improvement patches. While the old DOS-based Fable remains, the new addition of a native Windows release brings some great improvements, not least the ability to play the US or European version complete with their vastly different endings. Lastly, NET:Zone got hit with a much needed save-game fix. If you already have version 1, read the comments on the game page to save a re-download and fix it yourself.

I'll see you next month for a barrage of new bangers.

MONTHLY 5 - May 2025

May is here, and much like the variety of weather conditions in ol' Blighty, I've gathered a variety of gaming curios for your enjoyment too!

Pick of the month is a classic 3D platformer that I played the heck out of when it first came out on the PlayStation 2. But this Windows version of the Namco-published I-Ninja (2003 Argonaut Games) - complete with true Widescreen support - is perhaps the best way to play. Also rather interesting is the first-person sci-fi adventure Zero Zone (1998 Cryo Interactive) which is one of Cryo's better attempts at the genre.

Next up is the first-person tactical squad-based shooter Mortal Coil: Adrenaline Intelligence (1995 Crush, Ltd). While it pre-dates Rainbow Six by three years, and is full of jank and glitches, it's actually a rather fun time once you get to grips with it's quirks (and I spent a lot of time doing so, so you don't have to).

Lastly, there's a couple of classic Amiga games and their lesser PC ports. Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes (1992 ArtGame & Electronic Zoo) is an old-school computer RPG in the best possible sense. Le Fetiche Maya (1989-90 Silmarils & Digital Integration, Inc) - also known simply as Maya - is an ambitious action-adventure that has you searching Mayan temples for hidden treasure.

One game on the update list this month: Urban Runner. I've updated ScummVM which will hopefully help with some compatibility issues that some have mentioned, but I wasn't able to replicate. There's also some updated manuals in there too!

Until the summer rolls in in June, have fun with this eclectic batch by clicking on the links after the jump!

MONTHLY 5 - February 2025

February is over, and with that comes the latest batch of games from the Collection Chamber. Pick of the bunch is RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren (1998 CyberFlix, Inc), a piratey point-and-click adventure. We also have a unique take on Cluedo with the puzzle board game Case Closed (1999 David Sakadelis). Head to some strange lands and learn about magical beast in The Great Myths and Legends: Monsters & Mythical Creatures (1995 E.M.M.E.) before kicking them in the face with the first-person action-RPG ShadowCaster (1993 Origin Systems). To round off the quintet, we have an archaic version of Rocket League with the vehicular sports game Wild Wheels (1991 Red Rat Software & Ocean Software Ltd).

We'll soon be heading into the month of March where movies will be the theme of the year. The Oscars - my World Cup or Super Bowl - is in a couple of days so I'll be celebrating it with some movie adaptations. They're yet to be decided, but what is locked is my predictions for who will win the Golden Statuette. I'm usually quite good at this, but never really post any proof so I'm gonna do it here;

We'll see how well I did in a couple of days. As for the games, check them out after the jump...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 7

A week into the Christmas Countdown, and I hope none of your dreams are wasted as we play Wasted Dreams (1999 Digital Dreams Entertainment), an obscure action-adventure for the Amiga from the folks behind the surprisingly good time that is Codename Hellsquad. Take control of a couple of survivors whose ship has crash landed on an alien planet. Click on the link after the jump to see how well it stacks up.

But there's nothing wasted when it comes to tomorrow game. In fact, the non-existent scraps left behind means there's nothing to share...

MONTHLY 5 - September 2024

I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to the summer quite just yet, so while September brings autumn with it, it will also bring some summery fun thanks to the Collection Chamber.

Pick of the month is a sunny racing-game sequel; OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (2006 SEGA Corporation) but if skinny-dipping in the sea is more your style, play the obscure cinematic platformer The Lost City of Atlantis (1995 Noch Software, Inc) - warning: there will be nudity.

I suppose the scorched sun of an alien apocalypse is kinda summery too and that's where the uber-obscure ( and uber-cool) Amiga action adventure Codename Hellsquad (2000 Digital Dreams Entertainment) mostly takes place. The point-and-click adventure purists of you will get a kick out of Martin Mystère: Operation Dorian Gray (2005 Artematica Srl), a fantastical murder mystery based on the classic Italian comic book.

Lastly, we have another slightly flawed yet unfairly forgotten real-time-strategy game by the name of Rival Realms (1998 Activ Pub). I would say it's a lot more enjoyable than last months pick-of-the-month (Rising Lands), but I reckon I've put together a stronger line-up this month, putting this in fourth place. Discuss in the comments where you'd rank them.

Next month is the annual spooky season, so I'll be playing with the other side of the brightness spectrum with some dark and horrifying titles. Until then, cling to the warmth of summer just a little while longer. Enjoy!

MONTLY 5 - May 2024

So, April may have been a bust - in terms escapees from the Collection Chamber that is - but there's plenty of newly uncovered convicts once again seeing the light of day in May. Life tends to have a way of getting in the way of life, but I've managed to gather five more games to see you into June.

Pick of the month is a classic point-and-click adventure from the folks behind Flashback and Another World called Cruise for a Corpse (1991 Delphine Software). An American Tail: Aniamated MovieBook (1998 Universal City Studios, Sound Source Int & MCA Music Publishing) continues on from last time's The Land Before Time to provide another educational title for the little 'uns. For a bombastic multiplayer arena shooter, why not give the highly underrated Death Drome (1997 Viacom International Inc) a go. Or perhaps some wargaming is what you're after? If so, try the somewhat forgotten war strategy Offensive (1996 Ocean of America). Lastly, there's Vigilance on Talos V (1996 Square Wheel Studios Inc), a decent Metroidvania for PCs that way, way more Metroid than 'Vania.

That's it for this time. Hopefully I can get it together to post something for the end of June. Until then, happy gaming!

MONTHLY 5 - May 2023

A lot has happened in blighty this past month. Not only have we regained our rightful place as almost last in Eurovision, but we've only gone and crowned ourselves a new King! To commemorate this fact, I've been playing a game where one such monarch pillages his kingdom and sends his subjects to their deaths by fighting each other. That game is King's Bounty, and I've collated most of its ports and revisions in a compilation I call the King's Bounty Classic Collection (1990-1994 New World Computing).

That being said, my personal pick of the month is a blatant yet highly enjoyable Myst clone called Alida: The Enigmatic Giant (2004 Dejavu Worlds). Also available is one of the earliest stabs at a 3D platformer in the unfairly forgotten Bug! for PC (1996 SEGA). For the more adventurous among you, the hack-n-slash RPG NightStone (2001 New Horizons Studios) is worth a play and to cap out the month, we enter an educational fantasy land with beautiful art in Woodspell: The Enchanted Forest of Learning and Fun (1996 Mediola SRL).

As for the updates, we have three. Disney's Hercules: Hades Challenge and Chewy: ESC from F5 have been given the ScummVM treatment while Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace has had some tweaks for those with AMD cards. Head on over to their game pages for full details.

For this month's games, head on over past the jump. Enjoy!

MONTHLY 5 - April 2023

If you saw one film in cinemas this past month, chances are it was Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I saw it with most of my D&D group and had an awesome time - perhaps the most fun I've had in a theatre post-pandemic. So, I thought I'd dig out some old D&D games of yesterear and give them a whirl. Of the three chosen for this month's monthly five, classic computer RPG Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (2001 UbiSoft Entertainment) is my fantasy pick of the month, but with its mix of wargame strategy and first-person role-playing, Birthright: The Gorgon's Alliance (1996 Sierra On-Line) is also pretty good. Less so is Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (1996-1997 TSR & Acclaim Entertainment). This one-on-one fighter featuring well-known D&D characters, classes and races is pretty pants and I tried both the DOS and PlayStation versions in a vain attempt to find something good. For kusoge gamers only.

Beyond the giant lizards and underground chambers, I've kept the variety up with a much-requested mech action game called G-NOME (1997 7th Level Inc). For adventure-gamers there's the obscure Amiga point-and-clicker called Sixth Sense Investigations (1998 CineTECH); a respectable indie game that's heavily inspired by LucasArts' Day of the Tentacle. It's pretty good too if you can forgive its terrible Leicester-accented voice acting.

For this month's updates, we begin with Obsidian which now takes advantage of its induction to ScummVM's list of supported games. The Amazing Spider-Man Collection has also been updated and tweeked which fixes errors, adds manuals and updates emulators. See the Game Updates section or head on over to their review pages for full update info.

That's it for this month! I'll see you at the end of May for more classic gaming goodness. Until then, head on after the jump to read my thoughts on April's ragtag group of aging code.

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 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.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 7

Snuggle up to an anthropomorphic feline on Day 7 of our Christmas Countdown. Lionheart (1992 Thalion Software) may look like He-Man crossed with Thundercats' Lion-O - and you'd be right - but his stunning platform game is much better than either of their efforts. It was once exclusive to the Amiga, but thanks to some fans, a reimagined Windows remake (2022 Byron 3D Games Studio) has been doing the rounds too. If, like me, you're as curious as a cat, explore after the jump to explore onwards.

Also on another note, the recent download issue has been solved apart from the offending game file (bye bye Need for Speed SE). Unsure what triggered it as opposed to anything else, but that's life I suppose. 

MONTHLY 5 - September 2022

It's a Viking invasion!!!

I've gone nutty for all things Nordic thanks to a memorable but all-too-brief trip to Norway earlier this month. And I couldn't let it slide without playing some games featuring the history and mythology of that spectacular country. The Norse god Thor is on a quest to defeat the evil goddess Hel in the difficult Amiga platformer Fire and Brimstone (1990 Vectordean Ltd & Firebird). In other news, a nameless hero is on his own quest to steal that god's magical mallet in the action-heavy shareware RPG Thor's Hammer Trilogy (1995 Escape Programming). I'm sure the same gaggle of gods will crop up in another RPG; Heimdall (1992 Core Design) playable on almost all systems it released on. On a less mythical note, Vikings: Adventure out of Time (1998 Index+) educades about the real lives of berserkers from the North in an entertaining fashion. Alternatively, Vikings: The Strategy of Ultimate Conquest (1996 1996 Random Games, Inc) attempts the same but as a strategy game complete with a healthy dose of Michael Dorn.

You may have noticed a little sidebar on the right-hand side detailing the most recently updated games. I thought it would be a good thing to keep a track of it here. Two games have been updated since last time. For those having trouble running Disney's The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - GameBreak and The Museum of Anything Goes, these new packages may help with that. Make sure to read the included ChamberNotes text file included with each install for more information.

If you ever get a chance to visit Bergen, I can't recommend it enough. If you don't, travel on past the jump to discover it in gaming form.

THE CHRISTMAS CATCHUP - THE FESTIVE FINALE

In the sage words of a singing Wizzard; IT'S CHRISTMAAAS!!! And with that comes the last entry of my Christmas Catch-up; Lemmings - or a compilation of the original Lemmings Trilogy (1991-2000 Psygnosis). Included in the massive bumper package along with the first game is Oh No! More Lemmings, Lemmings 2: The Tribes and The All New World of Lemmings (aka Lemmings Chronicles). Not to mention the oh-so-festive themed demos the future-GTA-developers put out back in the day. With all the console, handheld and computer ports in tow, that's 32 games in total! Whew!

Now to find time to (not) make a video about it all...

Merry Christmas!

THE CHRISTMAS CATCHUP - DAY 9

If yesterday's Christmas Catch-up floated your boat, then today's entry will be right up your alley. Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire (1993 Anthony Taglione & Peter James) takes off right where the last game ended, seeing you travel the Far East and the homelands of your party's Assassin. It's part 2.5 in the Trazere trilogy so it's as much a stand-alone add-on as it is a sequel. There's not much different, but with more of an emphasis on puzzles, this one is still well worth a play.