MONTHLY 5 - January 2025

The first month of 2025 is at an end, and boy has it been an eventful one. To distract you from those January woes, why not try one of these five resurrected gems from the past.

In the case of B.C. Racers (1994-5 Core Design Inc), that's the distant past. Pre-history even. A mascot kart racer with some nice sprite-scaled visuals playable on DOS, SEGA CD, SEGA 32X and 3DO! Next, board the Black Pearl in the late 17th century and flip off some balls in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Pinball (2005 Disney Interactive). 

Head over to war-torn Europe of the 1930s and beyond and platform through some of Tintin's most famous escapades in Tintin: Destination Adventure (2001 Infogrames). From World War II to Woodstock, peruse the pages of the famous weekly periodical in The Face of Life (1994 Time Inc & Creative Multimedia), a fascinating educational multimedia CD-ROM.

Finally, head on to the cyberpunk future of 2095 and take on the role of a Neo Hunter (1996 Virgin Interactive Entertainment Inc). From the imagination of Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game) and developed by ex-LucasArts employees who took the cancelled project with them, it's an epic gallery shooter with a heavy dose of adventure.

Still to come in February is my rundown on the TV shows of 2024 but more gaming goodness will arrive on the last day of the month. I'll see you then!

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 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 9

   

With every Christmas in my youth, I would be almost certain that either me or one of my siblings would get a Disney VHS or SNES cart under the tree. I cannot separate the festive season from many Disney classics, they're so intwined. Around this time last year, I gave you three educational Disney games so let's do it again. Yet another Yuletime Disney Triple.

We have three edutainment titles to suit your fancy; Disney's Adventures in Typing with Timon & Pumbaa (1998 Disney Interactive), Disney's Lilo & Stitch: Hawaiian Adventure (2002 Disney Interactive) and the MacDonald's promotional tie-in called Disney's Treasure Planet: Training Academy (2002 Disney Interactive). They vary wildly in quality (though I suspect you can all figure out which one's the worst) but I'm sure there's something in each that'll please kids and Disneyphiles alike. Head on after the jump to find out more.

THE CHRISTMAS CATCHUP - DAY 10

   

Christmas and Disney are interwined in my eyes. When I was younger, one present under the tree was guaranteed to be a Disney VHS. The two are so synonymous, I tend to go revisit movies from the Disney Rennaissance around this time each year. So, on Day 10 of my Collection Chamber Christmas Catch-up, I thought I'd do something I haven't done in a while; a Disney Triple.

Collated here are three edutainment titles; Disney's The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea - Activity Centre (2001 Disney Interactive), Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - Game Break (1998 Disney Interactive) and Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Activity Centre - also known as Magical Ballroom (2000 Disney Interactive). Each have that Disney standard of digital animation, but vary drastically in how long it'll keep the little Disneyphiles away from the Christmas pudding.

HIDDEN GEMS - TOP 10 SPOOKY GAMES FOR KIDS

 

This one took a while to compile, but it wouldn't be the Halloween without a swathe of spooky retro titles for you to game to. This time, I present my personal, completely biased Top 10 list the best 90s kids games best played in the Halloween season. I've limited myself to games that are no longer sold, so no Maniac Mansion, Hocus Pocus or MediEvil, and those specifically aimed at the younger critters infesting households the world over.

 

From the list, there are 4 titles new to the Chamber, and another 2 that have been updated. That's Are You Afraid of the Dark, an adventure game based on the classic Nickelodeon show, I.M. Meen, an excuse to learn grammar while playing a Doom clone, Jan Pienkowski's Haunted House, based on the still-impressive pop up book and Nightmare Ned, of the best Disney show no-one remembers. Check them out after the jump by following the links below, but not before you catch my video on the subject!

 

MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND

If you're anything like me, Christmas isn't Christmas without the Muppets. They've disappeared from public life of late, thanks to an ill-conceived Office-inspired television show that killed any goodwill the modern cinematic outings may have earned. In the mid-90s, however, Jim Henson's loveable creations could do no wrong, and that included the 1996 re-telling of the Robert Lewis Stevenson's quintessential pirate tale. And 'cos we're the Collection Chamber, Muppet Treasure Island (1996, Activision) inevitably saw a computer game tie-in!

DISNEY'S ALADDIN TRIPLE

   

The live-action Aladdin remake has just hit theatres, so what better time to celebrate the animated classic that is the 1992  original? Here are three rather obscure titles to feature the big blue genie and the motley crew that freed him. Flip your balls around Agrabah in Disney's Aladdin Pinball, an obscure mission-based pinball game. Then, if you need some refreshers on two of your three 'r's, test your arithmetic in Disney's Math Adventure with Aladdin and your reading in Disney's Reading Quest with Aladdin.

EVEN MORE DISNEY ACTIVITY CENTRES

   

I'm back with even more Disney goodness to keep your inner child at bay. They may not all be called Activity Centres by name, but they are in spirit. Here's The Emperor's New Groove: Groove Centre (2000), The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - Active Play (1998) and Toy Story 2: Activity Centre (1999).

MORE DISNEY ACTIVITY CENTRES

   

No one does edutainment like Disney, so here are three more under their Activity Centre banner. Disney's Dinosaur, 102 Dalmatians and Winnie the Pooh & the Blustery Day are featured within so head on over and check them out.

TRIO OF DISNEY GOODNESS

   

The quality of Disney's edutainment titles vary quite a bit, but even the least successful of them offer something for your average Disney-phile. Here's three more games from the late 90s: Tarzan Activity Centre, A Bug's Life: Active Play and Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too: Animated Storybook.

VILLAINOUS GAMES FROM DISNEY

   

Disney's gaggle of villains are probably just as memorable as their heroes. Or princesses. At around the turn of the millennium, the entertainment giant tried to morph them into their very own brand. And with their need for cross-promotion, a few games came along too. Among them were Disney's Villains' Revenge, Disney's Hades Challenge & Disney's Arcade Frenzy! Check them out after the jump.

DISNEY MINI-GAMES

   

Disney were incredibly prolific in the 90s with their computer edutainment titles. Most followed a pre-set theme such as the Animated Storybooks, Activity Centres or Print Sudios but there were a few titles that stood on their own. Be Our Guest, Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games and Topsy Turvy Games compiled a collection of 5 mini-games each and tied them to a Disney animated classic (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame respectively).

DISNEY'S ACTIVITY CENTRES

   

There's not really a lot of quality gaming for the very young. Most titles are little more than a trick to teach basic math to an unsuspecting 4-year-old, but Disney bucked the trend in the 90s by catering to all demographics. Older gamers got the 16-bit platformers on consoles, while the pre-schoolers got the high production values of the Animated Storybooks. The Activity Centre series - three of which you can find here - falls somewhere in the middle in both quality as well as age-range.

THREE MORE DISNEY INTERACTIVE STORYBOOKS

   

What better way is there to cure of those January blues than a good dose of Disney? Read further to get a look at three more Disney titles for the very young (and young at heart).

EVEN MORE DISNEY ANIMATED STORYBOOKS

   

I've been absent for a bit due to a heavy workload in my day job (which has unfortunately been extended for another week), so today I bring you three more games from the Animated Storybook collection...

MORE DISNEY ANIMATED STORYBOOKS

   

OK, I missed a couple of posts. It's Mayday bank holiday here so I've been quite busy. To make amends, I've decided to add more games from the Disney Animated Storybook series continuing from the most popular page on the site.

DISNEY'S ANIMATED STORYBOOK: HERCULES

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