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...

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!

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!

MONTHLY 5 - June 2024

So, the end of June is here, meaning that half of 2024 has passed by! And with that, the Collection Chamber has set free a further five prisoners  filled with fun times.

My pick of the bunch hails from Sweden; The Mystery at Greveholm (1997 Young Genius) a spooky first-person adventure for all ages based on a TV show beloved by all Swedes of a certain age. Beyond this, we have the next entry in Don Bluth's edutainment series with All Dogs Go to Heaven 2: Animated MovieBook (1996 MGM Animation, Inc & Sound Source Interactive). Instead of watching the fourth movie in cinemas, reenact the second in Bad Boys II; Miami Takedown (2004 Blitz Games Ltd, Empire Interactive Europe Ltd & Columbia Pictures). Join the rebel force against a conquering alien race in the FMV-heavy action-packed The Raven Project (1995 Cryo Interactive) before heading back down to earth with the high-speed XCar: Experimental Racing (1997 Bethesda Softworks).

That's all for now! I'll see you next time for some more retro goodness.

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!

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 - June 2023

Summer is here, and after a scorching hot June, it's time get out of the sun, stay indoors and play some ancient PC Games! Pick of the month is Synnergist (1996 Vicarious Visions), an adventure game with a history as fascinating as its neo-noir plotline. If you haven't had enough of last month's Bug!, how about it's sequel Bug Too! (1996-1997 SEGA). Both now also include the Saturn originals ready to play for you SEGA-loving entomologists out there. Next up, play the classic board game with some nifty graphics and computer-animated FMV sequences in Clue: Murder at Boddy Mansion (1998 Hasbro Interactive) or Cluedo: Murder at Blackwell Grange as its known for us Brits. For something a little more high octane, play Hi-Octane (1995 Bullfrog Productions), a futuristic racing game for PC-DOS, PlayStation and Saturn. Is it a WipEout beater? Lastly, The Reap (1997 Housemarque Games) is a great-looking early shoot-em-up from the folks who gave us Super Stardust and Returnal.

There's also a few updates to talk about. Ripley's Believe it Not: The Riddle of Master Lu has not only had its DOSBox updated and tweaked to fix a bug, but now also includes a manual and mini player's guide. Dust: A Tale of the Wired West also adds a maual while utilising the upgraded features of DOSBox-X. Finally, in addition to last month's Bug! for PC, Bug! for Saturn is now available. See their game pages or the Game Updates section for full information.

Head on past the jump and click on those links to read my full thoughts and make up your own mind by giving them a play them yourselves.

MONTHLY 5 - January 2023

It's 2023 and a full month has gone by. Other than collecting my musings of the movies and modern games I've encountered over the last year, it's time to get back to the old stuff. We have five interesting obscurities to kick off the year, starting with the fantasy Tomb Raider clone Asghan: The Dragon Slayer (1998 Silmarils). Next up is a recently translated PlayStation platformer featuring the first creation of Dragon Ball's Akira Toriyama called Dr. Slump (1998 Bandai). Then we have the racing sequel Monster Truck Madness 2 (1998 Microsoft Corporation & Terminal Reality) complete with dozens of fanmade tracks and trucks. Travel the high seas and shoot your way to treasure in Overboard! (1997 Psygnosis) otherwise known as Shipwreckers! in the US. Lastly, guest reviewer Austin takes on a crazy ride with the action-arcade-strategy hybrid that is Space Dude (1996 Evryware).

That's not all. A minor improvement to the site sees the list of all of the Labels in full view at the very bottom. It was something I didn't even think about until a random comment popped up, so hopefully it'll prove useful when browsing the hundreds of game reviews (we're edging towards 600!).

Talking about the games, we have a few updates. Shannara now uses DOSBox-X (but may have an issue so the last version remains - expect the fantasy adventure to appear here again next month), Nocturne now has some tweaks for better compatibility while also adding an editor and soundtrack too! Lastly, MetalTech EarthSiege fixes the crash at the end of Campaign 4, Mission 8 while also getting upgraded to DOSBox Daum as its emulator of choice. You can see their full details of their game pages or on the Game Updates page found to your right.

For the others, go check them out by clicking after the jump...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 1

   

So, in the spirit of this Yuletide season, I though I'd do what I did last year; a 12-day blast of games counting down 'til the big day. I have a lot prepared but we'll start with a trio of oft-requested special editions of games already featured on the site. 3D Ultra Mini-Golf: Deluxe (1998 Sierra On-Line) adds 9 extra holes that are just as inventive as the original 18. A.D. Cop Overseas Mission (1997 Electronic Music and Animated Graphics Co. Ltd) is more of a stand-alone mission pack but there are some nice if minor quality-of-life improvements. Lastly, Need for Speed: Special Edition (1996 Electronic Arts) not only adds two new race tracks, but adds the ability to play all of them at different times of the day as well as new in-game music.

Head on after the jump to see how they compare.

MONTHLY 5 - August 2022

Summer is coming to a close, but what better way to distract from the boredom of the office job/school work/financial crisis than a nostalgic trip to the 90s with a quintet of lesser known gems of the era. My good pal Austin is back with a review of SpaceKids (1995 MicroProse) , a strange supposedly educational title that plays like a wordless multi-path adventure. One adventure game I've always been meaning to play is Escape from Delirium (1995 Virtual X-Perience), a shareware title who wears its LucasArts inspiration on its sleeves. For a more Myst-like adventure, try Titanic: A Mysterious Undersea Adventure (1998 Dosch Design GmbH) which has more to do with an Atlantis-like sunken city than a sunken passenger ship. If you want a little more action, the mech shooter Iron Assault (1995 Graffiti) may be more up your alley or, if you want to drive fast through the British countryside, give Mobil 1 Rally Championship (1999 Actualize Ltd & Magnetic Scrolls Ltd) a go.

That's not all! I've updated a couple of packages too! Azrael's Tear now uses a different fork of DOSBox to help even out its speed (though like the original game, it is still prone to the odd slowdown). I've also updated both the DOS and PlayStation version of Silverload. Among the plethora of changes, the DOS original now includes a scan of the manual while the PlayStation remake now supports mouse control. Head on over to their game pages to download and find out more.

And while your at it, check out August's games by clicking on the links after the jump...

MONTHLY 5 - June 2022

Looks like I missed a month! Dunno where the time went (I'm blaming a rift in the space-time continuum), but here's some games for June. First up is a very adult FMV murder myster starring some recognisable Hollywood types by the name of Blue Heat: The Cover Girl Murders (1997, Orion Pictures Corporation). For something a little more family friendly there's the fun flipper follow up to that Windows pack-in game Full Tilt! 2 Pinball (1996, Maxis, Inc). Ever wanted to live the life of a lion? Then you're in luck 'cos the next game is an educational simulation simply called Lion (1995, Sanctuary Woods). If you want to race in circles in one of the most realistic car sims of the time, then give NASCAR Racing 2 (1996, Sierra On-Line) a whirl. To top it all off, we have an old remake of an ancient platformer designed to make use of those newfangled windows in Thexder for Windows '95 (1995 Sierra On-Line). Head on over by clicking the links after the jump. Enjoy!