CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 10

 
There's a cash prize for today's game. One Million Dollars! Or at least there would be had you solved the insanely cryptic riddles of Treasure Quest (1996 Sirius Publishing, Inc) back when it released. Starring Terry Farrell of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame, it has quite the fascinating history for a weird multimedia CD-ROM adventure.

Only two days to go, so come Christmas Eve, expect major boobage.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 9

As is now something of a tradition within a tradition, Day 9 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown (4C for short?) is reserved for Disney. As a kid, the VHS of latest Disney classic from the renaissance era was almost guaranteed to be under the tree. So, here's 3 Disney games to unwrap.

We 're moving away from educational titles, instead moving into first-person action, arcade pinball  and even survival horror! Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Trial by Fire (2001 Disney Interactive) is a decent first-person outing for the little'uns developed by the folks behind an earlier Christmas Countdown 2024 outing Ice & Fire. Disney's The Little Mermaid Pinball (2005 Disney Interactive) is a quick and fun ball-flipper firmly taking place where it's wetter. Lastly, we have a surprisingly unnerving foray into survival horror with the console version of Disney's Piglet's Big Game (2003 Disney Interactive). You may have seen some of the Silent Hill comparisons online, and believe me, it's warranted.

But if Disney ain't your thing, come back tomorrow. I promise it'll be worth a million bucks!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 8

 
There's only 4 days left to go in the epic Christmas Countdown, and before we get to the end game, let's game our ends away with a mech brawler. A nasty hacker has stolen state secrets from numerous countries and is forcing each one to battle against each other in cyberspace to win them back. The tournament at hand is called Zero Divide (1995-98 ZOOM Inc).

Check out this one-on-one 3D fighter inspired by Virtua Fighter by heading over to the review page. And come back tomorrow for a trilogy of games that has become something of a tradition on Day 9 of the countdown. Yes, that's right! It's Disney Triple time! But which games from the house of mouse will be here? I've already snuck in a few clues hidden in various posts this past month so come back tomorrow to see if you're correct :). 

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...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 6

Shoot our way through a futuristic game-show where you either win big or die while In Pursuit of Greed (1995-96 Softdisk, Inc). It's a frenetic first-person-shooter with a weird sense of humour. Just what you want for Chirstmas!

But don't let that stop you from dreaming about bigger things to waste your money on. Save that for tomorrow...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 5

Our good pal Tintin and his dog Snowy returns for a new adventure in Tintin in Prisoners of the Sun (1997 Infogrames Multimedia), another decent DOS port of a cinematic platformer. Professor Calculus has been kidnapped so it's off to the far reaches of the earth in search of the Incas to save him. Check out my review after the jump...

'Tis the season for rampant consumerism, so join me tomorrow as we chase that capitalistic ideal.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 4

 
Bring you woolly mittens with you for today's game in the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown for we'll we dealing with both Ice & Fire (1995 Zombie, LLC). This debut first-person-shooter from Zombie Studios (ZPC: Zero Population Count, Spec Ops and a brief stint with Disney) sees you melt or freeze evil aliens infesting a space ship. Exciting stuff.

Snow may return tomorrow, but I promise we're off to warmer climes.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 3

Day 3 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown is already here, and today's game is a classic point-and-click adventure called Ween: The Prophecy (1992 Coktel Vision). Using ScummVM, the Scandinavian-inspired fantasy contains three versions; the definitive DOS version as well as the Amiga and Atari ST ports which differ slightly. Check out this doozy of a game after the jump.

I'm a bit hot-and-cold over tomorrow's game, but I'm sure it'll melt your heart regardless...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 2

Day 2 of the Christmas Countdown brings with it some groovy spy action with The Operative: No One Lives Forever (2000 Monolith Productions, Inc & Twentieth Century Fox). Join sexy spy Cate Archer as she travels the world risking her life on undercover missions for the secretive government organisation called UNITY. Mix James Bond, Austin Powers with classic first-person-shooting and you have an absolute classic you can now play again!

As for tomorrow? I foresee misspelt sausages.

Click on the link after the jump for more...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 1

Jumping Jellyfish! It's Christmas already! You all know what that means... the annual Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown! Kicking off this (so-far less-than) snowy season is a game based on the classic Franco-Belgian comic strip by Hergé; Tintin in Tibet (1995-96 Infogrames Multimedia). Join our quiff-haired blondie and his little dog Snowy as he climbs frozen mountains and dodges Buddhist monks on his way to discover the fabled Yeti in this smart-looking cinematic platformer for PC DOS.

If you read my last update post carefully, you might've noticed a cryptic clue hinting at this game (and perhaps some others). As for what's arching over tomorrow? Well, it's not exactly an infinity away ;).

On another note, I've recently migrated away from Twitter (for obvious reasons). It's become something like an angry X, so like many others I've moved to bluer skies with BlueSky where my social media game will likely be just as awful and erratic as it's always been. Regardless, if you want to follow me there, please do so.

Anyway, enjoy the first game of the Christmas Countdown and be check back daily for more!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN COLLATED

The end of 2023 has arrived like a flash, so before I get to my annual rundown of modern movies and games I've been playing this past year I thought I'd rundown those fourteen old games I revisited in the past month. As hectic as is it, I do enjoy putting together 12 days of retro PC gaming for the Christmas Countdown. Read on after the jump for the full list and see if you may have missed any. 

See you next year!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - THE FESTIVE FINALE

At this point, Lemmings and Christmas go hand in hand. This is the fourth year in a row where I've celebrated those green-haired rapscallions on Christmas Day, so I'm continuing that tradition with Lemmings Revolution (2000 Psygnosis Ltd). It's one of the lesser known entries, only ever being released on Windows PCs, but it is one of the better ones. After the experimentation of Lemmings 3D and Paintball, it's nice to come back to a more traditional approach. Cosy even. In my eyes, it's the perfect gift for Christmas!

I'll be back in the New Year with my annual retrospectives on the one just passed. It's been a good year for both movies and games, so check out my Top 10s whenever it is I get around to posting them. Beyond that, the Monthly 5 games will return on the last day January as normal but I'm sure you've got enough to be playing with until then.

Merry Christmas everybody!!!!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 11

Gothic fantasy is at the heart of Christmas Eve's entrance to the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown. Dark Vengeance (1998 Reality Bytes, Inc) is a criminally underrated action-adventure with three distinct characters battling their way through their own unique storylines and levels. Something of a must-play in my opinion. Read on for my full thoughts.

There's only one more sleep to go, so I'm gonna plug my socials once more before we can all chill with a mince pie and a pint. Follow me on Instagram and X/Twitter (screw those Facebook hackers) and if you're feeling really generous this season, consider joining my Patreon or making a one-off PayPal donation. It'll help me continue this crazy project (8-years and counting) I've become so fond of.

I'll see you again on Christmas Day for the festive finale, and until then I'll leave you guessing what it could be. Long-time followers with an eagle-eye could probably have a good idea what it could be...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 10

Day 10 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown teases you with a mini-game-filled multiplayer party game. Teazle (1997 Global Star Software) has you playing a weird version of tic-tac-toe as you complete a myriad of mini-games to create a line before the others do. What more could you want for the season?

There's only two more days left until the big day and the best is yet to come! Make sure to keep up-to-date on my social medias at Instagram and X/ Twitter (Facebook is still being a pain). I'm actually surprising myself with how well I'm keeping on top of it!

Until this time tomorrow, have fun!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 9

We can't have a Christmas Countdown without the traditional Disney Triple. For Day 9 of this festive foretaste, we have three educational titles hailing from the vaults of Disney. Their 100th anniversary celebration may have been lacklustre (Wish was awash), but check out Atlantis: The Lost Empire - The Lost Games ( 2001 Disney Interactive), Piglet's Big Game (2003 Disney Interactive) and The Lion King: Operation Pridelands (2004 Disney Interactive) for some of that patented magic.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 8

Twitter followers got a sneak peak for today's featured game thanks to a mis-scheduled post, but now that it's Day 8 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown, you can finally play it! The days have crept up quickly, so hide away from the stresses of the season by entering the World Wide Wed... literally. Or, to be more accurate, virtually. Unravel a conspiracy with NET:Zone (1996 Compro Games) an internet savvy FMV adventure. The rabbit hole goes deep with this one!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 7

It's time to explore the midnight lands in the seventh game of the great Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown. Mike Singleton's Lords of Midnight III: The Citadel (1995 Maelstrom Games & Domark) is an ambitious open-world RPG with a generous helping of Dragons. Read my full thoughts after the jump.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 6

We're halfway through our Christmas Countdown, and we return to all that is pink with Pink Panther in Hokus Pokus Pink (1998 Wanderlust Entertainment), the sequel to Passport to Peril from a few days ago. The first one was a surprisingly hilarious time, so how does this slightly spooky follow up fare? Head on after the jump to find out - and stay tuned for more festive festivities in the days to come!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 5

There's only ONE WEEK left until the big day, so I hope you've all got your presents sorted. If not, I gotcha with Day 5 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown! Today we have a futuristic racer that was the big thing for the genre years after WipEout released. This time, Take2 Interactive took a stab at publishing Thrust, Twist + Turn (1999 Carts Entertainment Oy, Ltd) for our little ol' PCs and there sure is a lot of each of those verbs to be found.

Check it out by clicking on the links after the jump!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 4

With Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon recently hitting Netflix, and the fact that I've already reviewed both unrelated Rebel Moon games some time ago, I thought I'd bring in a slightly different touch or rebellion for the fourth day of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown. Rebel Runner: Operation Digital Code (1996 Microforum) is a tough action side-scroller from a little-known South Korean developer named Family Production. Check it out after the jump to see if it's as explosive as Netflix's most recent and expensive streaming blockbuster.