MONTHLY 5 - SEPTEMBER 2023

So, it appears my Facebook (Meta?) has been hacked so if you are used to visiting my humble corner of the internet from there, that's why I haven't posted an update. So far, it looks like they've changed nothing beyond my admin status, username and password but it's probably wise not to trust links from there for a while until I claw back control from some arsehole in Dehli, India. I should probably take this as a sign to keep on top of my other social media accounts like Twitter (X?) and Instagram (Instagram?) which I've very much neglected over the years.

By technical troubles coming from Dehli, India haven't stopped me from putting forth five newly added games to the chamber (although, as is unfortunately becomming the norm, some of the reviews aren't up yet). Pick of the month is the sequel to Magic & Mayhem called The Art of Magic (2001 Virgin Interactive Entertainment). It continues the same strategy/RPG gameplay as the first but instead of the charming claymation graphics were introduced to some new-fangled 3D polygons. Dark Angael (1997 Vicarious Visions) is a cool Metroidvania-style platformer which has the same under-used mouse and keyboard controls as Abuse. L'Affaire Morlov (1995-1996 CPIO Multimedia & Titus) is a French-produced, English-language FMV detective adventure. SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest (1996 Maxis Inc) is yet another SimNoun title, this time asking you to balance commerse and conservation on a series of island rainforests. Lastly, guest reviewer Austin tackles a surprisingly emotional freeware adventure called Mourir en Mer (2002 Digital Mind Studios).

As for updates, the big one is that of a compilation featuring Sierra's Hi-Res Adventures. ScummVM has been updated so it would accept a larger variety of Apple II disk images allowing all 7 games in the series to run via that program. Cranston Manor is now playable this way instead of using the more cumbersome AppleWin emulator. I've also tweaked the DxWnd configuration in Space Hulk 2: Vengeance of the Blood Angels which would hopefully help with random crashes.

That's it!

MONTHLY 5 - JULY 2023

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may have come out at the end of last month, but I didn't see it until the beginning of this one. I like it fine enough. It was generally level in quality making me prefer it to the mess that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but I must say that Spielberg's misfire is the more memorable movie. The highs are much higher there but its the depths of its lows that make me like this new one a little more. I'll hand over my full thoughts at the end-of-year movie rundown, but until then I've collated a bunch of Indiana Jones games no-one seems to remember anymore. It took me a hell of a long while to do, so I'll have to give Indiana Jones: The Action Games (1982-1994 Various) my pick of the month, even if most of its content is more fascinating than fantastic. It include the original Atari 2600 game based on the original movie, the Temple of Doom arcade game and its many ports, almost all platform iterations of The Last Crusade and the action side of The Fate of Atlantis. Including ports, variations and a number of other oddities, that's nearly 40 games!

My real pick would probably be Magic & Mayhem (1998 Virgin Interactive Ent & Mythos Games Ltd), a fantasy-set strategy game from the folks behind the original X-COM trilogy. Ark of Time (1997 International Computer Entertainment Ltd) is a decent point-and-click adventure that sees a journalist stumbles upon an Atlantean conspiracy. CyberBykes: Shadow Racer VR (1995 Artificial Software, LLC) is an early attempt at consumer VR, but more interesting than that is Charlie Brooker's (of Black Mirror fame) bizarre PC Zone review. To cap off the month, I've returned to the world of the Sims with SimTown: The Town You Build Yourself (1995 Maxis Inc). It's a more kid friendly version of SimCity that must've been installed on school PCs the world over.

I only have two updates this month, and both are revisions of games from last month. A lot of people have been having issues with Clue: Murder at Boddy Mansion. I suspect their systems are missing one of the Microsoft Visual C++ packages (link in the FAQ) which I recommend every retro PC gamer install. Version 2 of the game's installer now launches using the offical .exe instead of one modified with the NoCD patch. It will also use Image Drive Portable to automatically manage virtual CD mounting. I've also put a limit on the framerate for The Reap which makes the game much more playable.

That's it for this month! Until next time...

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!

CHRONICLES OF THE SWORD

King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table - there's nothing quite like the most epic of British fables. Many have taken their stab at adapting the tale be it books, movies or games and in 1996, Psygnosis published Synthetic Dimensions' long-gestating adventure game called Chronicles of the Sword. Taking place after the grail has been found, with Arthur firmly on the throne, he's beginning to find ruling over Britania in the magical Dark Ages quite troublesome.

LEGEND OF ZELDA BS: COMPLETE

   

Long-term readers of this site know I reviewed the Broadcast Satellite Zelda games a few years ago as part of a collection. Since then, these Nintendo oddities have recently been given the full BS treatment by fans. You can now play the games as intended, with voice acting, CD quality music and time limit all translated into English. It is the most authentic experience of these lost classics since they were originally broadcast for the Japanese market.

FABLE

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...